Franklin Resources Inc. Has $120.50 Million Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 535,849 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 73,076 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.25% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $120,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,967 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 343 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 2,395 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.9% in the third quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.7% in the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG stock traded down $6.69 on Thursday, reaching $250.96. 715,275 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 841,533. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $198.52 and a 12 month high of $259.35. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $244.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $240.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.83 billion, a PE ratio of 52.16, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.08. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.03 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total value of $3,974,560.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,952 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,109,286.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total value of $3,974,560.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,952 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,109,286.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.06, for a total transaction of $3,825,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 96,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,666,597.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,219 shares of company stock valued at $12,727,781 in the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AJG. Truist Financial reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $255.00 target price (down from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $253.00 to $252.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $255.71.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.