HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,932,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,513,199,000 after buying an additional 47,656 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,490,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,541,044,000 after buying an additional 79,429 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $1,421,591,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $801,115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,745,283 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $345.01 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $322.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $301.35. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $230.08 and a 52 week high of $350.53. The company has a market capitalization of $88.23 billion, a PE ratio of 52.92 and a beta of 0.75.

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, topping 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%. As a group, analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 39.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AJG. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $313.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total transaction of $760,825.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,031,487.89. The trade was a 13.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224 in the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.