Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Acquired by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 304,861.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 64,021 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $16,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 27.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 103,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $23,631,000 after purchasing an additional 22,127 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 17.6% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,440 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% in the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 104,210 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $23,753,000 after buying an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 45,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,257,000 after buying an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Finally, Kowal Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $208,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $238.72. The stock had a trading volume of 545,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 839,971. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $239.01. The firm has a market cap of $52.16 billion, a PE ratio of 48.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.69. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $198.52 and a twelve month high of $256.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.08. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.03 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 48.58%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total value of $117,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 45,038 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,540,693.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total transaction of $117,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,038 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 sold a total of 29,016 shares of company stock valued at $7,176,180 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $253.00 to $252.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and set a $255.00 price objective (down 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 objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $279.00 to $233.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $255.31.

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.

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