Allstate Corp Purchases Shares of 6,966 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Allstate Corp bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 6,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,977,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $340.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $230.08 and a fifty-two week high of $345.43. The stock has a market cap of $87.10 billion, a PE ratio of 52.24 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $321.73 and a 200-day moving average of $300.96.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.88%.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total value of $877,569.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total value of $760,825.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,031,487.89. The trade was a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. TD Cowen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $313.20.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.