Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Acquired by Professional Advisory Services Inc.

Professional Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,539 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises 2.6% of Professional Advisory Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Professional Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $20,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avanza Fonder AB grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 24,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,261,000 after purchasing an additional 3,826 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 373.7% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 31,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,078,000 after buying an additional 24,625 shares during the period. Carr Financial Group Corp grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 144.7% during the fourth quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 2,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 1,244 shares during the last quarter. Asempa Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $783,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 29,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,614,000 after acquiring an additional 1,031 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $279.00 to $249.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $226.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.82.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,552,814.40. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $215.99 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $227.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $255.57. The company has a market capitalization of $55.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.12, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.67. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $195.00 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.53%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.