Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Purchased by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 16.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,204 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $18,960,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 67,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,893,000 after purchasing an additional 11,752 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% in 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. Running Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 48,722 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,830,000 after buying an additional 3,983 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position 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 buying an additional 3,217 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. now owns 141,163 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,069,000 after buying an additional 17,196 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.1 %

AJG stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Thursday, reaching $331.96. 961,110 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,264,951. The business's 50 day moving average price is $330.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $306.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.89 billion, a PE ratio of 50.91 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $232.27 and a 52-week high of $350.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. 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. 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.