Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Acquires Shares of 21,746 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 21,746 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,173,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% in 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 in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total value of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,536,304.26. The trade was a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price objective on the stock. Two research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $315.27.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 2.7 %

AJG traded up $8.88 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $334.60. The company had a trading volume of 1,179,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,257,268. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $329.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $304.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $230.08 and a 52 week high of $350.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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 segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.