Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Sells 515 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 515 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Consolidated Planning Corp bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,089,000 after buying an additional 982 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 15,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,381,000 after buying an additional 1,537 shares in the last quarter. Certuity LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 13,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,804,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of AJG opened at $324.79 on Thursday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $230.08 and a 1-year high of $325.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $292.59 and a 200 day moving average of $291.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.81 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.4 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 36.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,440,499.14. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total transaction of $760,825.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,031,487.89. This trade represents a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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 business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.