Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 12,504 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 364,457 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 12,504 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $103,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,305,478 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,462,392,000 after buying an additional 580,134 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,932,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,513,199,000 after acquiring an additional 47,656 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,490,728 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,541,044,000 after purchasing an additional 79,429 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,196,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $899,538,000 after purchasing an additional 383,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,029,256 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $576,004,000 after purchasing an additional 184,960 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 2.5 %

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $8.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $334.85. 1,497,410 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,703,951. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $315.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $298.94. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $230.08 and a 52-week high of $345.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.36 and a beta of 0.75.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. On average, analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,536,304.26. This trade represents a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,725 shares of company stock valued at $4,972,964 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $313.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $307.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.