Whittier Trust Co. Increases Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 49 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $3,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in 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 in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $332.02 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $84.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.92 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $316.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $299.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $230.08 and a 12 month high of $345.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders 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 is presently 39.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AJG. Truist Financial upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $310.43.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.