Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 87.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 179,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 83,591 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.07% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $51,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 69,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,536,304.26. This represents a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total transaction of $760,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at $5,031,487.89. This represents a 13.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $8.88 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $334.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,179,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,257,268. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.57 billion, a PE ratio of 51.32 and a beta of 0.64. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $230.08 and a fifty-two week high of $350.70. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $329.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $304.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. On average, equities research 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 39.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.