Choate Investment Advisors Purchases 920 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Choate Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 62.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $680,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $959,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $940,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $325.35 on Monday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $230.08 and a 52-week high of $345.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $312.16 and its 200 day moving average is $298.22. The company has a market cap of $82.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.90 and a beta of 0.75.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 39.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total transaction of $104,669.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. This represents a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total transaction of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,536,304.26. The trade was a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,725 shares of company stock valued at $4,972,964. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.