Brendel Financial Advisors LLC Takes Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Brendel Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,678 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,727,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Greenleaf Trust grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,967 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $676,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 343 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 969 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.1 %

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $2.58 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $236.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 984,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 799,524. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $244.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $198.52 and a 52-week high of $256.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.28, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.68.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 9.63%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total transaction of $308,026.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at $516,269.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total value of $117,020.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,038 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,540,693.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total value of $308,026.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,023 shares in the company, valued at $516,269.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,016 shares of company stock valued at $7,176,180 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial reissued a "hold" rating and set a $255.00 price target (down previously from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $279.00 to $233.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $255.23.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.