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

Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,248 shares during the period. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $14,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,305,478 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,462,392,000 after buying an additional 580,134 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,932,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,513,199,000 after purchasing an additional 47,656 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,490,728 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,541,044,000 after purchasing an additional 79,429 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,196,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $899,538,000 after purchasing an additional 383,130 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,330,703 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $374,408,000 after buying an additional 31,181 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG traded up $2.57 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $314.78. The company had a trading volume of 460,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,884,917. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $230.08 and a fifty-two week high of $316.72. The firm has a market cap of $78.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.25 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $291.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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%. Equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.53 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 36.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AJG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $313.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.00.

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 business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.