Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Bought by Unigestion Holding SA

Unigestion Holding SA grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 58.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,063 shares during the quarter. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $1,421,591,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,422,435,000 after buying an additional 3,851,661 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $801,115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,745,283 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 126.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,003,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $568,619,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,779,248,000 after purchasing an additional 787,265 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 7.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $318.97 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $230.08 and a fifty-two week high of $350.70. The stock has a market cap of $81.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.92 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $326.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $302.45.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,536,304.26. This trade represents a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This trade represents a 7.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial increased 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $313.20.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.