Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Reduces Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership cut its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 35.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 361,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 197,734 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned 0.14% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $102,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $959,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $940,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,054,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Encompass More Asset Management raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.4% during the third quarter. Encompass More Asset Management now owns 969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $341.78 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $320.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $300.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.42 and a beta of 0.75. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $230.08 and a 52-week high of $345.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 39.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $313.20.

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

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total value of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total transaction of $760,825.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at $5,031,487.89. This trade represents a 13.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.