Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Bought by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 787,265 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.51% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $1,779,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 17,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,990,000 after buying an additional 2,819 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter valued at approximately $582,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 906.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 11,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,265,000 after purchasing an additional 10,452 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 56,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,980,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,330,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $374,408,000 after purchasing an additional 31,181 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $343.70 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $323.67 and a 200-day moving average of $301.67. The firm has a market cap of $87.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $230.08 and a twelve month high of $355.16.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.65 dividend. 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 yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,029,771.80. This trade represents a 7.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total transaction of $104,669.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at $14,422,812.98. This trade represents a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AJG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $313.20.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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 segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.