Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 83,591 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 87.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 179,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 83,591 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.07% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $51,011,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter worth $582,000. IHT Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter valued at about $272,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 25.8% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 9,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,811,000 after purchasing an additional 2,048 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter worth about $3,270,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 94.6% in the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 1,061 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total transaction of $3,229,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,536,304.26. This trade represents a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total transaction of $760,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,031,487.89. The trade was a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $318.97 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $326.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $302.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $230.08 and a one year high of $350.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.92 and a beta of 0.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $313.20.

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