Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by Empower Advisory Group LLC

Empower Advisory Group LLC cut its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 93 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $818,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total transaction of $760,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,031,487.89. This represents a 13.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on AJG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $325.85 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $294.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.26. The company has a market cap of $81.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.98 and a beta of 0.77. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $230.08 and a 12 month high of $329.60.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. 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%.

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 business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.