Blue Trust Inc. Increases Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 25.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 8,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,183,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth $29,000. Regal Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 11.3% in the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.3% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth about $223,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $292.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.07.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:AJG opened at $294.47 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.09 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average of $291.81 and a 200 day moving average of $288.34. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $227.43 and a 52 week high of $316.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. 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.