Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 526,861 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,537 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.21% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $149,549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,422,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,932,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,513,199,000 after purchasing an additional 47,656 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,490,728 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,541,044,000 after purchasing an additional 79,429 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,421,591,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% during 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. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG stock traded down $9.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $310.24. 1,546,020 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,235,810. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $230.08 and a 52-week high of $354.45. The company has a market capitalization of $79.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.53 and a beta of 0.64. 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 fifty day moving average price of $326.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $302.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is currently 39.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler raised 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. Truist Financial lifted 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. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $313.20.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. The trade was a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total transaction of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,536,304.26. The trade was a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.