Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires Shares of 95,646 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 95,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $27,178,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $318.97 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $326.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $302.45. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $230.08 and a 52 week high of $350.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.57 billion, a P/E 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. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Equities 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of 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. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price objective for the company. Two 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $313.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total value of $760,825.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at $5,031,487.89. This trade represents a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.