New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $48.96 Million Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 172,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,078 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.07% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $48,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.3 %

AJG opened at $327.30 on Thursday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $230.08 and a 1-year high of $329.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $295.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $292.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $81.76 billion, a PE ratio of 50.20 and a beta of 0.77.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. 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 36.81%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total value of $877,569.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,440,499.14. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $760,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AJG. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of 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. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.00.

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.