Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by AXQ Capital LP

AXQ Capital LP cut its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 46.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 865 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during 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 fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% during the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.43.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total transaction of $104,669.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. The trade was a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total transaction of $760,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at $5,031,487.89. The trade was a 13.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $332.02 on Monday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $230.08 and a 52-week high of $345.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $316.96 and a 200 day moving average of $299.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $84.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.92 and a beta of 0.75.

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 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 39.88%.

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.