3,228 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Purchased by Sage Investment Counsel LLC

Sage Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $736,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at $3,587,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.1% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 149,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,389,000 after buying an additional 9,966 shares in the last quarter. Gtcr LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at $514,112,000. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.0% in the second quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan now owns 193,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,433,000 after acquiring an additional 22,227 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.6% in the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 516,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,532,000 after acquiring an additional 18,047 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG opened at $266.55 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $68.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.20, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.55. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $190.75 and a 52-week high of $281.66. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $247.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $232.48.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.43%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.86, for a total transaction of $252,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 46,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,838,652.34. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.13, for a total value of $3,169,560.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 90,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,840,902.06. The trade was a 11.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,500 shares of company stock valued at $7,562,950. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Mizuho reduced their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $292.00 to $271.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $278.00 to $255.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.74.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company. The firm helps businesses, public entities and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance and related services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, wholesale brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, claims administration and risk management consulting. Gallagher places commercial and personal insurance coverage and provides services related to property and casualty risks, health care, benefits, and other specialized insurance needs.

Founded in 1927 by Arthur J.