EULAV Asset Management Increases Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

EULAV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 32.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the quarter. EULAV Asset Management's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $4,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AJG. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $307.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG traded up $2.79 on Wednesday, hitting $324.79. 1,099,538 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,863,780. The business's fifty day moving average is $292.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.12. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $230.08 and a 12 month high of $325.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.81 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. 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 (DPR) is currently 36.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the company'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 of the company's stock, valued at $14,422,812.98. This represents a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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 owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $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 quarter, insiders have sold 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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