Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) is Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's 6th Largest Position

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lowered its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 282,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,940 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for 1.6% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS owned 0.11% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $80,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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. TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $325.28. 952,441 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,745,089. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $230.08 and a fifty-two week high of $329.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $297.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $293.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.85 billion, a PE ratio of 49.89 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. As a group, research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 36.81%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,536,304.26. This trade represents a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,725 shares of company stock valued at $4,972,964 in the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by 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 business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.