Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $2.95 Million in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 13,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,946,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other 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 sale, the vice president now owns 2,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $516,269.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 45,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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 transaction, 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 90 days, insiders sold 29,016 shares of company stock valued at $7,176,180. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $232.09 on Tuesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $198.52 and a 12-month high of $256.10. The company has a market capitalization of $50.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.68. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $244.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $238.68.

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. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 54.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the company 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. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $255.00 target price (down previously from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $279.00 to $233.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.23.

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.