Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Increases Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 23.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,340 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $22,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PFG Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 18,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,337,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 56,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,138,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 212.3% during the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 4,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,154,000 after purchasing an additional 2,764 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 73.6% in the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $567,000 after buying an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $326.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.04 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $230.08 and a 1 year high of $345.43. The business’s 50-day moving average is $309.48 and its 200 day moving average is $297.47.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 39.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of 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 research note on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Piper Sandler upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.93.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,031,487.89. The trade was a 13.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.