Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 9,892 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,892 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $15,854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG opened at $332.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $84.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.92 and a beta of 0.75. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $230.08 and a 12 month high of $345.43. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $316.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $299.46.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 39.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AJG. TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Truist Financial raised 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $310.43.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total value of $877,569.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total value of $104,669.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 44,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. This trade represents a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.