Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Lowers Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,913,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 178,687 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $536,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 worth $8,422,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,932,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,513,199,000 after acquiring an additional 47,656 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,490,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,541,044,000 after purchasing an additional 79,429 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,029,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $576,004,000 after acquiring an additional 184,960 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 126.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,003,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $568,619,000 after buying an additional 1,117,441 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total value of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,536,304.26. This represents a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 value of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. The trade was a 7.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $336.56 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $230.08 and a twelve month high of $345.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.72 billion, a PE ratio of 51.62 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $319.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $300.37.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 39.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $313.20.

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.