SMART Wealth LLC Buys New Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

SMART Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $484,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 28,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,963,000 after buying an additional 5,333 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 561,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $159,334,000 after acquiring an additional 71,544 shares during the last quarter. Telligent Fund LP bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $3,009,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 49,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,134,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,578,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on AJG shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $319.76 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $230.08 and a fifty-two week high of $320.72. The company has a market capitalization of $79.88 billion, a PE ratio of 49.04 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $291.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $289.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.51.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.81%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 sale, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,031,487.89. The trade was a 13.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.