Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Has $28.06 Million Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,918 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 13,242 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $28,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded up $3.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $324.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 433,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,802,225. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.85 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $294.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $292.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $230.08 and a fifty-two week high of $329.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $307.00.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.