CIBC Asset Management Inc Buys 5,198 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 48,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,198 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $13,714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 during 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. bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total transaction of $760,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964 in the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $325.85 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $294.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $292.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $230.08 and a fifty-two week high of $329.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.40 billion, a PE ratio of 49.98 and a beta of 0.77. 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 results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. 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%.

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.