Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock Position Boosted by Prospector Partners LLC

Prospector Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 81,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 175 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for approximately 2.6% of Prospector Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $23,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AJG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% in the 4th 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. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,779,248,000 after acquiring an additional 787,265 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $1,421,591,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $801,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,029,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $576,004,000 after purchasing an additional 184,960 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 7.4 %

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $318.97 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $326.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $302.45. The stock has a market cap of $81.57 billion, a PE ratio of 48.92 and a beta of 0.75. 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 12-month low of $230.08 and a 12-month high of $350.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on 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. TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on 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. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $313.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction of $877,569.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 90,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,029,771.80. The trade was a 7.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224. 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.