AXQ Capital LP Lowers Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

AXQ Capital LP reduced its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 46.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 979 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 865 shares during the quarter. AXQ Capital LP's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 67,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,893,000 after purchasing an additional 11,752 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $249,237,000 after buying an additional 618,362 shares during the period. Running Oak Capital LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 48,722 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,830,000 after buying an additional 3,983 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 183,857 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,732,000 after acquiring an additional 2,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 22,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,217 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 $22,536,304.26. This trade represents a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total transaction of $760,825.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,031,487.89. The trade was a 13.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $5.05 on Thursday, hitting $341.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,330,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,151,871. 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. has a one year low of $230.08 and a one year high of $345.43. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $319.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $300.37. The stock has a market cap of $87.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.42 and a beta of 0.75.

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 (EPS) 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, sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current 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. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $313.20.

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.