Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Purchases 71,544 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 561,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 71,544 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.22% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $159,334,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AJG. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $249,237,000 after buying an additional 618,362 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,305,478 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,462,392,000 after acquiring an additional 580,134 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6,581.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 437,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $124,174,000 after acquiring an additional 430,917 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,196,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $899,538,000 after purchasing an additional 383,130 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 431.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 323,880 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $91,130,000 after purchasing an additional 262,987 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE AJG traded down $2.26 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $322.03. 1,537,913 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,892,086. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.44 billion, a PE ratio of 49.39 and a beta of 0.77. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $230.08 and a fifty-two week high of $324.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $292.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.85.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.4 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 36.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $313.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating 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 report on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $307.00.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total value of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 value of $760,825.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,031,487.89. This trade represents a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.