Commerce Bank Increases Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Commerce Bank grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,006 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $6,814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AJG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $1,421,591,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,422,435,000 after acquiring an additional 3,851,661 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $719,489,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $801,115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,745,283 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 126.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,003,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $568,619,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,441 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. TD Cowen raised 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. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $315.27.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $331.96. 960,957 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,264,950. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company has a market capitalization of $84.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.91 and a beta of 0.64. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $232.27 and a 12-month high of $350.70. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $330.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $306.65.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 39.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total value of $877,569.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,029,771.80. The trade was a 7.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.