Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Purchases 14,390 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 15.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 108,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,390 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $30,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $1,421,591,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $719,489,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% during the 4th 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. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 126.2% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of 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 upped their price objective on 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $315.27.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG stock traded down $7.72 on Tuesday, reaching $335.20. The company had a trading volume of 1,313,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,258,838. The business's 50-day moving average is $329.61 and its 200 day moving average is $304.79. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $230.08 and a one year high of $370.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.72 billion, a PE ratio of 51.41 and a beta of 0.64.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.88%.

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.