Natixis Advisors LLC Has $103.84 Million Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to 335,248 shares worth $103.84 million, and institutional investors now own about 85.53% of the stock.
• Arthur J. Gallagher boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.70 per share (annualized $2.80) with an ex-dividend date of March 6 and payment on March 20, representing a ~1.2% yield.
• The company reported Q4 EPS of $2.38 (beating estimates by $0.03) on $3.57 billion of revenue (slightly below expectations), and analysts' consensus rating is a "Hold" with an average price target of $281.76.

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 335,248 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,313 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.13% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $103,839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Bowie Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter valued at about $32,893,000. Korea Investment CORP boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.0% during the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 148,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,085,000 after purchasing an additional 7,111 shares during the last quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.8% in the third quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 75,734 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $23,458,000 after purchasing an additional 4,798 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 385.0% during the 3rd quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 10,918 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,382,000 after purchasing an additional 8,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leeward Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Leeward Financial Partners LLC now owns 7,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,414,000 after purchasing an additional 972 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $228.40 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $239.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $263.15. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $195.00 and a 12-month high of $351.23. The company has a market capitalization of $58.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 45.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total transaction of $1,290,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 95,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,715,254.85. This represents a 4.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total value of $1,032,440.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 17,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,472,271.97. This trade represents a 18.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 24,850 shares of company stock valued at $6,364,440 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AJG shares. Mizuho raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Truist Financial set a $271.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research set a $289.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $289.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $281.76.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company's core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AJG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.