Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Buys 255 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 27.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AJG. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,664,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,202,742,000 after purchasing an additional 726,485 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $1,431,788,000. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,209,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,415,345,000 after acquiring an additional 34,999 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,000,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,139,872,000 after acquiring an additional 90,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.7% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,609,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $880,442,000 after acquiring an additional 74,974 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total value of $308,026.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,023 shares in the company, valued at $516,269.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 2,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $516,269.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 15,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 96,709 shares in the company, valued at $24,666,597.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 29,016 shares of company stock worth $7,176,180. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.1 %

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.39 billion during 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, equities analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target 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, April 10th. TD Cowen boosted their target price 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. Truist Financial reiterated 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 note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $279.00 to $233.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.