Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Invests $202,000 in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management purchased 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 Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 259.0% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,666,000 after buying an additional 5,345 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 36.3% in the 4th quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 5,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,351 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 16,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,706,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 35,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,942,000 after purchasing an additional 2,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 51.8% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AJG. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective 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, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $255.00 target price (down previously from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.31.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:AJG opened at $247.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $243.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $239.37. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $198.52 and a one year high of $256.10.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.08. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 10.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.