Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Purchased by Guinness Asset Management LTD

Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 841,026 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 41,795 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for 4.5% of Guinness Asset Management LTD's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Guinness Asset Management LTD owned approximately 0.34% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $238,723,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 67,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,893,000 after buying an additional 11,752 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 109,639 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,450,000 after acquiring an additional 14,860 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $249,237,000 after purchasing an additional 618,362 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 183,857 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,732,000 after purchasing an additional 2,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 22,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,217 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on AJG shares. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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. Barclays raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $304.07.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total value of $1,992,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at $21,626,666.10. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This trade represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of AJG traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $295.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,261,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,133,369. The company has a market cap of $73.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.23 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a fifty day moving average of $291.99 and a 200 day moving average of $287.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $227.08 and a 1 year high of $316.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.26. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 45.71%.

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.