Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by James Investment Research Inc.

James Investment Research Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 195 shares during the quarter. James Investment Research Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $7,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $321.59 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $293.94 and a 200-day moving average of $291.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $80.33 billion, a PE ratio of 49.32 and a beta of 0.77. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $230.08 and a 1-year high of $329.60.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AJG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total value of $104,669.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 44,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,422,812.98. The trade was a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total value of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,536,304.26. This represents a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.