Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New Investment in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 8,227 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,335,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG traded down $2.58 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $337.75. The stock had a trading volume of 864,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,313,839. The firm has a market cap of $86.50 billion, a PE ratio of 51.80 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $331.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $312.71. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $244.60 and a one year high of $350.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS 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 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is presently 37.63%.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,010 shares of company stock valued at $7,493,056 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $318.57.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.