Teacher Retirement System of Texas Raises Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 546.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 45,981 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $15,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.7 %

AJG opened at $332.02 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $316.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $299.46. The company has a market cap of $84.57 billion, a PE ratio of 50.92 and a beta of 0.75. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $230.08 and a 1 year high of $345.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was 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 39.88%.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 44,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,422,812.98. This trade represents a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,031,487.89. This trade represents a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AJG. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $310.43.

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.