52,624 Shares in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Purchased by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 52,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,937,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This represents a 16.50 % 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, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total value of $104,669.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at $14,422,812.98. This trade represents a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,725 shares of company stock valued at $4,972,964 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $326.50 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $315.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $298.94. The company has a market cap of $83.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.08 and a beta of 0.75. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $230.08 and a 12 month high of $345.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued 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%. Sell-side 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is currently 39.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. 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 report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.