Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Bought by Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.

Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,984 shares during the period. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $12,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.7% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 109,639 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,450,000 after purchasing an additional 14,860 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth about $749,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 29.9% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 161,028 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,756,000 after buying an additional 37,070 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,297,000. Finally, Marsico Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 316.9% in the second quarter. Marsico Capital Management LLC now owns 11,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,968,000 after acquiring an additional 8,701 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $1.85 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $304.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 626,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 854,435. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $288.55 and a 200-day moving average of $277.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $66.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $218.63 and a twelve month high of $308.00.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 45.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This represents a 16.02 % 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 the SEC website. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 33,267 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,853,685.40. This trade represents a 17.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $6,892,280 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AJG. Barclays increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $289.71.

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.