Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Acquires 1,557 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 513,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,557 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.24% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $115,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.7% in the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 13,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,035,000 after buying an additional 4,102 shares during the period. Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.4% in the third quarter. Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc now owns 3,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.3% in the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 72,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,486,000 after buying an additional 3,633 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective (down previously from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $279.00 to $233.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $231.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.53 billion, a PE ratio of 52.13, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $244.60 and its 200-day moving average is $238.70. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $198.52 and a fifty-two week high of $256.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 18.49%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 54.05%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total value of $308,026.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,023 shares in the company, valued at $516,269.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total value of $308,026.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,023 shares in the company, valued at $516,269.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total transaction of $117,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at $10,540,693.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,016 shares of company stock worth $7,176,180. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.