Bleakley Financial Group LLC Buys 362 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AJG. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 49.0% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $925,000 after acquiring an additional 1,744 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at about $838,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 37.7% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 25.0% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 11,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,953,000 after acquiring an additional 2,235 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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 transaction of $308,026.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $516,269.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 12,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.65, for a total transaction of $2,925,233.85. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 322,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,712,707.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the firm’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $516,269.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,016 shares of company stock worth $7,176,180. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $240.02 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $244.58 and its 200 day moving average is $238.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $52.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $194.98 and a one year high of $256.10.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 business earned $1.54 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price 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. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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 report 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 report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $255.00 price target (down from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday. 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.