Wrapmanager Inc. Sells 1,292 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Wrapmanager Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 40.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,292 shares during the quarter. Wrapmanager Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AJG. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $1,502,000. C WorldWide Group Holding A S increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S now owns 6,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,859,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the period. World Equity Group Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 3,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $883,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 61,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,512,000 after purchasing an additional 10,100 shares during the period. Finally, Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 32,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,260,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total transaction of $104,669.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. This represents a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total value of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,536,304.26. The trade was a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG stock opened at $328.53 on Tuesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $230.08 and a 1 year high of $331.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.68 billion, a PE ratio of 50.39 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $298.80 and its 200-day moving average is $293.81. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.65 dividend. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AJG. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, November 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company 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 issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.00.

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.