Welch Group LLC Has $66.14 Million Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Welch Group LLC decreased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 235,046 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,593 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up about 2.9% of Welch Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Welch Group LLC owned about 0.11% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $66,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Vicus Capital bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $204,000. Aviance Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $378,000. Kowal Investment Group LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 1,179 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 47,406 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,854,000 after acquiring an additional 1,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $236,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Barclays assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $287.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.1 %

AJG stock traded up $3.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $285.99. 1,007,723 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 848,273. The firm's 50 day moving average is $289.21 and its 200 day moving average is $269.88. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $218.63 and a twelve month high of $301.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $62.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 10.41%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total transaction of $1,799,520.10. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 30,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,536,855.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total transaction of $1,799,520.10. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 30,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,536,855.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total value of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 44,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,622,660. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.