Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Grows Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 21.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 67,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,752 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $18,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $216,000. Bath Savings Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 70.0% during the 4th quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 20,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,937,000 after buying an additional 8,612 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,358 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $669,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Ridgeline Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $368,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 22,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,217 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $286.09. 3,074,545 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,612,124. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $291.69 and a 200-day moving average of $285.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $227.08 and a one year high of $316.72. The firm has a market cap of $71.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.49, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.76.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.26. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid 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 0.84%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

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

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total value of $1,992,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,626,666.10. This represents 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,211,438. The trade was a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $304.07.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.