Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Buys 13,997 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 139,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,997 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $39,637,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 2.5 %

AJG stock opened at $334.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $316.04 and a 200 day moving average of $299.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.29 billion, a PE ratio of 51.36 and a beta of 0.75. 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. has a 52 week low of $230.08 and a 52 week high of $345.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

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

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 44,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. This represents a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on AJG. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.93.

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.