Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Acquires 56,804 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,478,054 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 56,804 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.59% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $419,546,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,421,591,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 worth $8,422,435,000 after acquiring an additional 3,851,661 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $801,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745,283 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 126.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,779,248,000 after purchasing an additional 787,265 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AJG. Piper Sandler upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $313.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total value of $104,669.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 44,783 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. The trade was a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE:AJG traded up $6.80 on Friday, hitting $332.52. The stock had a trading volume of 373,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,252,676. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $230.08 and a 1 year high of $350.70. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $328.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $303.78. The stock has a market cap of $85.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.99 and a beta of 0.64. 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. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. Analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.