Bath Savings Trust Co Acquires 8,612 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Bath Savings Trust Co grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 70.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,612 shares during the quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $5,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of 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 note on Monday, November 25th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $296.57.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG stock traded up $3.35 on Tuesday, reaching $279.77. The company had a trading volume of 2,776,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,686,177. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.89 billion, a PE ratio of 53.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.76. 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 one year low of $224.21 and a one year high of $316.72. The business's 50-day moving average is $291.60 and its 200 day moving average is $285.29.

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 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $1,992,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at $21,626,666.10. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,211,438. This trade represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.