Winslow Capital Management LLC Takes $719.49 Million Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Winslow Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,534,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $719,489,000. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises 2.6% of Winslow Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Winslow Capital Management LLC owned 1.01% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AJG. IHT Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $272,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 25.8% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 9,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,811,000 after purchasing an additional 2,048 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,270,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 94.6% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 1,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter valued at $447,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $310.68 on Wednesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $230.08 and a fifty-two week high of $350.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.45 billion, a PE ratio of 47.65 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $327.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $303.02.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the company’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AJG. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a 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 stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.