Fmr LLC Reduces Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Fmr LLC decreased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,959,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 346,298 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned 4.79% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $3,394,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $22,536,304.26. This represents a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $318.97 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $326.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $302.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.92 and a beta of 0.75. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $230.08 and a 12 month high of $350.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AJG shares. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $313.20.

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 segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.