Ghisallo Capital Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Ghisallo Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 950,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $269,658,000. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for about 15.7% of Ghisallo Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC owned about 0.38% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.27.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of AJG traded down $1.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $318.92. 689,051 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,666,394. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $235.09 and a 1 year high of $350.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.91 and a beta of 0.64. The business's 50-day moving average price is $330.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $307.80.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total value of $104,669.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 44,783 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. The trade was a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total value of $760,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at $5,031,487.89. This trade represents a 13.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224 over the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.