Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 3.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 695,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 28,102 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $215,404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AJG. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at $9,877,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,299,674,000 after buying an additional 3,330,205 shares during the last quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 107.1% during the 2nd quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 14,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,642,000 after buying an additional 7,500 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 735,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $234,226,000 after buying an additional 2,806 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.2% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,381,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $762,473,000 after acquiring an additional 94,940 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AJG. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial set a $271.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $281.76.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total value of $1,032,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 17,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,472,271.97. This represents a 18.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $4,041,750.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 79,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,284,995. The trade was a 16.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,850 shares of company stock valued at $6,364,440. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG stock opened at $228.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $195.00 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The firm has a market cap of $58.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $239.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $263.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.28%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.