Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.88% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $8,422,435,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. MRP Capital Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $313.20.

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Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total transaction of $760,825.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,031,487.89. This represents a 13.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total value of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,536,304.26. The trade was a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of AJG stock traded up $5.05 on Thursday, hitting $341.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,330,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,152,981. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $230.08 and a one year high of $345.43. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $320.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $300.66. The company has a market cap of $87.40 billion, a PE ratio of 52.42 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 39.88%.

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.