KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New Investment in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 82,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $23,506,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter valued at approximately $324,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 30,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,563,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 29,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,363,000 after purchasing an additional 3,541 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 101.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 305,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,819,000 after buying an additional 153,884 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the company’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. This represents a 13.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on 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. Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $332.02 on Friday. The stock 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $316.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $299.50. 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. (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 net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. Equities analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a boost 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%.

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.