Capital World Investors Buys 1,910,471 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 30.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,910,471 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors owned 3.28% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $2,327,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth about $401,000. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 9,789 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,754,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $22,538,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $427,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 37.2% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 9,824 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. Barclays upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $315.27.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded down $0.10 on Thursday, reaching $331.69. 563,877 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,637,739. The firm's 50 day moving average is $330.53 and its 200-day moving average is $306.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $232.27 and a one year high of $350.70. The firm has a market cap of $84.82 billion, a PE ratio of 50.87 and a beta of 0.64.

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 for the quarter, topping 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued 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 of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.88%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total value of $104,669.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at $14,422,812.98. This trade represents a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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