Verity & Verity LLC Purchases 1,575 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Verity & Verity LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $11,853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 47.6% during the third quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AJG. Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.07.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $295.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $227.08 and a 12-month high of $316.72. The company has a market capitalization of $73.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.23 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $291.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $286.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total value of $1,992,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,626,666.10. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,211,438. This represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

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.