Heritage Wealth Management LLC Makes New $1.56 Million Investment in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Heritage Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 6,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,558,000. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for approximately 0.8% of Heritage Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $967,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 177.4% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 5,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 3,666 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 33,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,567,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 1,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Finally, Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 4,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,119,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total transaction of $117,020.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total value of $117,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at $10,540,693.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total value of $308,026.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $516,269.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,016 shares of company stock worth $7,176,180 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AJG. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $255.00 price target (down previously from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $253.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $279.00 to $233.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.31.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG traded up $0.83 on Thursday, reaching $239.63. The stock had a trading volume of 260,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 863,775. The stock has a market cap of $52.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $243.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $239.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.05. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $198.52 and a 12-month high of $256.10.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 10.27%. The business’s revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.