Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,933,988 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 263,004 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.17% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $832,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,011,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,576 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,015,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $1,340,000. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth $7,096,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on AJG. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $313.20.

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Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total transaction of $760,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at $5,031,487.89. This represents a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG traded down $25.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $318.97. The company had a trading volume of 2,901,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,234,376. 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 firm has a market cap of $81.57 billion, a PE ratio of 48.92 and a beta of 0.64. The business's 50 day moving average price is $326.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $302.45. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $230.08 and a 1-year high of $350.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted 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%. Research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. 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.