Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. Makes New Investment in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 7,346 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,085,000. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises about 1.9% of Littlejohn Financial Services Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 59,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,785,000 after buying an additional 2,537 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 24,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,996,000 after buying an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $985,000. Finally, Good Life Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $330,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of AJG stock traded up $4.35 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $325.85. 1,318,476 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,832,089. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $230.08 and a 12-month high of $329.60. The stock has a market cap of $81.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.98 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $294.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $292.26. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.4 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 39.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total value of $104,669.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,725 shares of company stock valued at $4,972,964. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $313.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on 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. TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.00.

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.