Live Oak Private Wealth LLC Boosts Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Live Oak Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 16,533 shares in the company, 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. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AJG. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price 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. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $319.76 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $230.08 and a 1 year high of $320.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $291.72 and its 200 day moving average is $289.70. The company has a market cap of $79.88 billion, a PE ratio of 49.04 and a beta of 0.77.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.53 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 36.81%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.