Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 6,581.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 437,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 430,917 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.18% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $124,174,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AJG. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,241 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC now owns 29,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,350,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 5,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,470,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,432 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $985,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG stock traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $290.07. 543,710 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,155,265. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $291.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $286.33. 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 $72.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.25, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.76. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $227.08 and a fifty-two week high of $316.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $292.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $304.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This trade represents a 16.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total value of $1,992,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,626,666.10. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.