Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Acquired by Assetmark Inc.

Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 18.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,397 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $4,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% during the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AJG shares. TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.93.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 $4,440,499.14. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. This represents a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $323.81 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $307.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $296.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $230.08 and a 12-month high of $345.43. The company has a market cap of $82.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.66 and a beta of 0.75.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results 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%. Equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued 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 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s 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.