Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Boosts Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $8,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position 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 worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 112,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,206,000 after acquiring an additional 15,528 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,946,000. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 13,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,035,000 after acquiring an additional 4,102 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $236.57 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $244.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.79. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $198.52 and a 52 week high of $256.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.64 billion, a PE ratio of 53.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 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. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 18.49%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. This is a positive change 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 payout ratio is 54.05%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at $10,540,693.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 12,309 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.65, for a total transaction of $2,925,233.85. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 322,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,712,707.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total transaction of $117,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,016 shares of company stock worth $7,176,180. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AJG. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $279.00 to $233.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $255.00 price objective (down from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen raised 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 note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently 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.