Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires 82,500 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 91.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 82,500 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $49,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AJG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,421,591,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,422,435,000 after buying an additional 3,851,661 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $801,115,000 after buying an additional 1,745,283 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 126.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,003,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $568,619,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,779,248,000 after acquiring an additional 787,265 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 2.3 %

AJG stock traded down $7.72 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $335.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 969,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,258,837. The company has a market cap of $85.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.41 and a beta of 0.64. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $230.08 and a 12 month high of $370.77. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $329.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $304.79.

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 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS 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 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on AJG shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of 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. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial boosted 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 note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $315.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total transaction of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 69,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,536,304.26. This represents a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This trade represents a 7.70 % 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. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.