APG Asset Management N.V. Acquires 240,447 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 223.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 348,034 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 240,447 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. owned 0.14% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $95,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG stock traded up $8.88 on Friday, reaching $334.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,179,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,257,268. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $329.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $304.16. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $230.08 and a 1 year high of $350.70. The company has a market capitalization of $85.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.32 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS 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 forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share 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. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

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

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total transaction of $104,669.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. This represents a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AJG. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.27.

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.