Farringdon Capital Ltd. Purchases Shares of 4,612 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Farringdon Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 4,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,309,000. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up approximately 0.5% of Farringdon Capital Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 3,851,661 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 787,265 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,421,591,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 worth $801,115,000 after buying an additional 1,745,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Winslow Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $719,489,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE AJG opened at $332.75 on Thursday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $230.08 and a 52-week high of $350.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $330.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $305.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.04 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AJG. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Truist Financial lifted 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. Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $315.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were 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 directly owns 69,774 shares in the company, valued at $22,536,304.26. The trade was a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company 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 segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.