Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by Payden & Rygel

Payden & Rygel lessened its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 24.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 64,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,300 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up about 1.6% of Payden & Rygel’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $18,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,478,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $419,546,000 after buying an additional 56,804 shares during the period. Aviva PLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 391,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $111,047,000 after acquiring an additional 37,196 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $27,178,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 395,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $112,160,000 after acquiring an additional 29,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pamalican Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $22,708,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. 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 target on the stock. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of 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 research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $313.20.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total transaction of $3,229,900.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $318.97 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $230.08 and a 12 month high of $350.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $326.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $302.40. The company has a market cap of $81.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.92 and a beta of 0.75.

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 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.