Distillate Capital Partners LLC Buys New Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Distillate Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 72,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $20,718,000. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for approximately 1.0% of Distillate Capital Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $1,421,591,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% during the fourth 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 acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $719,489,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake 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 valued at $801,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 126.2% during 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 period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 2.3 %

NYSE:AJG traded down $7.72 on Tuesday, hitting $335.20. 1,313,745 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,260,805. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $230.08 and a 1 year high of $350.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $85.72 billion, a PE ratio of 51.41 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $329.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $305.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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%. Equities 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. 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. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is currently 39.88%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total value of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,440,499.14. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the firm'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 owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at $5,031,487.89. This represents a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $315.27.

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.