Norinchukin Bank The Acquires 1,567 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Norinchukin Bank The lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,195 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,567 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,422,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,067,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,857,737,000 after purchasing an additional 305,876 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,327,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910,471 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 worth $1,779,248,000 after buying an additional 787,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,421,591,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total value of $3,229,900.00. Following 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 position. 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. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 4.0 %

NYSE AJG traded down $13.24 on Friday, hitting $318.29. 1,167,667 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,267,154. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $81.40 billion, a PE ratio of 48.88 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $330.74 and a 200-day moving average of $306.97. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $232.27 and a 12 month high of $350.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. As a group, analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. 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 objective on the stock. Piper Sandler upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $315.27.

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.