Brown Advisory Inc. Purchases 260,533 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,957,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 260,533 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises about 1.1% of Brown Advisory Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $839,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AJG. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,421,591,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,422,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $719,489,000. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,327,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910,471 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $801,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745,283 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 4.3 %

AJG opened at $331.42 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $330.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $308.43. The company has a market capitalization of $84.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.83 and a beta of 0.64. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $238.94 and a 52 week high of $350.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $760,825.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,031,487.89. This trade represents a 13.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. Truist Financial raised their price target 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. 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. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $315.33.

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 segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.