Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Trims Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board cut its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 70.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,290 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $3,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,422,435,000 after buying an additional 3,851,661 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,779,248,000 after acquiring an additional 787,265 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $1,421,591,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $801,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $719,489,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,536,304.26. This represents a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Truist Financial increased 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $315.27.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG stock opened at $331.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.78 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $330.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $306.48. 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 12-month low of $232.27 and a 12-month high of $350.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 39.88%.

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.