Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Boosts Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,323,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,321,493,000 after purchasing an additional 672,404 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,308,316,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,433,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $997,053,000 after acquiring an additional 884,394 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,624,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $656,217,000 after acquiring an additional 14,366 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.3% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,567,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $392,029,000 after acquiring an additional 79,271 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 3.5 %

NYSE:AJG traded up $9.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $283.58. The stock had a trading volume of 1,161,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 713,993. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $214.13 and a one year high of $283.90. The company has a market capitalization of $61.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.39, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $261.33 and a 200 day moving average of $248.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 10.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.1 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a research note on Friday. Argus increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $252.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $273.27.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total transaction of $3,974,560.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,109,286.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total value of $3,974,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,109,286.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,395 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total value of $862,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 38,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,731,756. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 53,165 shares of company stock valued at $13,629,049. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.