7,457 Shares in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Acquired by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,457 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,677,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 19,985 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,494,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $780,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Robbins Farley purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,518,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 743 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 69.9% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 89,051 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,026,000 after buying an additional 36,645 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $279.00 to $233.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Truist Financial reissued a "hold" rating and set a $255.00 target price (down from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $255.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG traded up $0.95 on Monday, reaching $237.52. The company had a trading volume of 669,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 873,225. The stock has a market cap of $51.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.68. The company's fifty day moving average is $244.42 and its 200 day moving average is $238.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $198.52 and a fifty-two week high of $256.10.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 9.63%. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.60 dividend. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.05%.

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

In other news, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $516,269.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 owns 2,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $516,269.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.06, for a total transaction of $3,825,900.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 96,709 shares in the company, valued at $24,666,597.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,016 shares of company stock worth $7,176,180. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.