Principal Securities Inc. Grows Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 29.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,317 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,576 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $3,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $959,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. W Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $426,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $940,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Covenant Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 5,326 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,499,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 5,849 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,635,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total transaction of $104,669.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 44,783 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,422,812.98. This represents a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AJG. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $313.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $325.28. The stock had a trading volume of 952,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,745,089. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $297.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $293.00. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $230.08 and a fifty-two week high of $329.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.89 and a beta of 0.77.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. 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 yield of 0.80%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.81%.

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 business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.