Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Purchased by Guinness Asset Management LTD

Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 841,026 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,795 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises about 4.5% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $238,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth about $210,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 63,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,476,000 after buying an additional 1,972 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 439.7% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after buying an additional 7,414 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 200,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,012,000 after acquiring an additional 6,003 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at $208,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AJG. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $292.00 to $286.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. 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 report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays raised their price target 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, TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $295.22 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $227.08 and a 1-year high of $316.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.23 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $291.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $287.02.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The business 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 firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.