Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC Grows Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 479 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up 0.6% of Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $3,461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. W Advisors LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% in the third quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,289,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Covenant Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 5,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the third quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 5,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,635,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 5,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total value of $1,992,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,626,666.10. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This trade represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AJG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.07.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $295.22 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $227.08 and a fifty-two week high of $316.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.23 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $291.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $286.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.71%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.