Aviva PLC Grows Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Aviva PLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 391,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 37,196 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned 0.16% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $111,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. TD Cowen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $313.20.

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Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total value of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 69,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,536,304.26. The trade was a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG traded up $3.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $326.97. 647,898 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,251,722. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $83.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.25 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $328.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $303.46. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $230.08 and a twelve month high of $350.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.88%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.