Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,267 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $6,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,431,788,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,664,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,202,742,000 after acquiring an additional 726,485 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,143,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $404,069,000 after buying an additional 619,008 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 36,168.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 357,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $81,593,000 after buying an additional 356,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7,923.4% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 298,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,122,000 after buying an additional 295,146 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $234.58 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $51.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $196.70 and a 12 month high of $256.10. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $244.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $238.56.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side 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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 54.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $255.00 price target (down previously from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $279.00 to $233.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 15,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president now owns 96,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,666,597.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.06, for a total value of $3,825,900.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 96,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,666,597.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total transaction of $308,026.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $516,269.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,016 shares of company stock valued at $7,176,180. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.