T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 123.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,887,538 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,253,498 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for about 1.0% of T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 2.29% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $1,523,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at $2,825,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,429,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 118,467 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,924,000 after buying an additional 5,947 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,919.2% in the 2nd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 19,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,398,000 after acquiring an additional 19,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $412,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,850,714. This trade represents a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $214.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $55.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.70, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $210.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.98. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $190.75 and a 1 year high of $327.34.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 45.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AJG. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Mizuho reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $259.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $264.12.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

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.

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