Discovery Capital Management LLC CT Takes Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Discovery Capital Management LLC CT bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 25,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,096,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its stake in 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 valued at $959,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $940,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.2% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $403,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,029,771.80. This trade represents a 7.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total transaction of $760,825.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at $5,031,487.89. The trade was a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $345.01 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $322.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $301.35. The company has a market cap of $88.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.92 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $230.08 and a one year high of $350.53.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $313.20.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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 segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.