Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. reduced its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AJG. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.5% during the first quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 49.0% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $925,000 after acquiring an additional 1,744 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth approximately $838,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 37.7% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 25.0% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 11,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,953,000 after acquiring an additional 2,235 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:AJG opened at $244.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.33 billion, a PE ratio of 55.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $194.77 and a 52-week high of $256.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $244.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $238.46.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 54.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AJG. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $279.00 to $233.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $246.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $257.62.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, 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 owns 2,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $516,269.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, 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 owns 2,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $516,269.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $117,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,016 shares of company stock valued at $7,176,180 in the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

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.