Private Advisor Group LLC Acquires 2,353 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,353 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $7,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 175.6% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter valued at $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 460.9% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter worth about $45,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective (down from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $279.00 to $233.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total transaction of $308,026.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $516,269.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total value of $308,026.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $516,269.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.06, for a total value of $3,825,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 96,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,666,597.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,516 shares of company stock valued at $7,059,160. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of AJG traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $245.60. 9,735 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 851,454. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50-day moving average of $243.71 and a 200-day moving average of $239.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $198.52 and a fifty-two week high of $256.10.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 48.58%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.