Rench Wealth Management Inc. Buys 1,148 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Rench Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,148 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for approximately 4.7% of Rench Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Rench Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $13,824,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AJG. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $959,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $940,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $403,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $343.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $230.08 and a one year high of $350.70. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $329.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $304.79. The company has a market capitalization of $87.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.70 and a beta of 0.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 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 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial upped 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $315.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total value of $3,229,900.00. Following 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 trade represents a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.