Blue Trust Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 86.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,758 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $313.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of AJG stock traded up $1.00 on Wednesday, hitting $327.30. The stock had a trading volume of 692,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,796,484. The business has a 50 day moving average of $295.38 and a 200 day moving average of $292.53. The stock has a market cap of $81.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.20 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $230.08 and a 12-month high of $329.60.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. 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 36.81%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total transaction of $104,669.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. This trade represents a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total transaction of $3,229,900.00. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.