Axiom Investors LLC DE Boosts Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Axiom Investors LLC DE raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 78.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 579,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 254,038 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for approximately 1.2% of Axiom Investors LLC DE's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Axiom Investors LLC DE owned about 0.23% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $164,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial increased their price target on 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. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $313.20.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG traded down $25.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $318.97. The stock had a trading volume of 2,901,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,232,210. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $230.08 and a 1 year high of $350.70. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $326.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $302.40. The stock has a market cap of $81.57 billion, a PE ratio of 48.92 and a beta of 0.75. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Equities 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.88%.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total value of $760,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at $5,031,487.89. This trade represents a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total value of $104,669.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. This represents a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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 segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.