Sterling Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 88.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,893 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,437 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $9,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Argent Trust Co lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 4,843 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 108,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,860,000 after buying an additional 14,390 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 2,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 13,228 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,755,000 after acquiring an additional 2,882 shares during the period. Finally, Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $719,489,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total transaction 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 approximately $22,536,304.26. This represents a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total transaction of $104,669.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 44,783 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. The trade was a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG traded down $7.72 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $335.20. 1,313,008 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,258,841. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.72 billion, a PE ratio of 51.41 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $329.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $304.79. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $230.08 and a 52-week high of $370.77. 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. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $315.27.

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.