Symmetry Investments LP Buys Shares of 2,000 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Symmetry Investments LP purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $568,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,422,435,000 after buying an additional 3,851,661 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,067,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,857,737,000 after acquiring an additional 305,876 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,327,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910,471 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 787,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,421,591,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AJG. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen upgraded 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $315.27.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 3.7 %

NYSE:AJG opened at $331.08 on Wednesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $232.27 and a 12 month high of $350.70. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $84.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.78 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $330.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $306.48.

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%. Analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.65 dividend. 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 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.88%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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

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