Old North State Wealth Management LLC Acquires 72 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Old North State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,558,000 after acquiring an additional 2,996 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% in the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 129.6% in the third quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 12,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,462,000 after acquiring an additional 6,946 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.3% during the third quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 7,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,114,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Insight Wealth Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the third quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 9,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,578,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.2 %

AJG opened at $312.70 on Wednesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $230.08 and a twelve month high of $316.72. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $291.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.21. The stock has a market cap of $78.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.96 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 36.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on AJG. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.