Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 23.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,333 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $7,963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $959,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. W Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $426,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $940,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Covenant Partners LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 5,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplined Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 5,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,635,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AJG. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on 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. Finally, TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.00.

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

In other 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,440,499.14. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total value of $760,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,031,487.89. The trade was a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:AJG opened at $322.42 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $291.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.91. The firm has a market cap of $80.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.45 and a beta of 0.77. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $230.08 and a fifty-two week high of $323.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.51.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.81%.

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