88,800 Shares in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Acquired by Ceredex Value Advisors LLC

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 88,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $25,206,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $22,536,304.26. This represents a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total value of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $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 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 2.3 %

AJG stock opened at $335.20 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $85.72 billion, a PE ratio of 51.41 and a beta of 0.64. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $230.08 and a 1 year high of $350.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $329.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $305.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AJG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $315.27.

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.