Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 42.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,384 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. W Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% in the third quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Covenant Partners LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the third quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 5,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the third quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 5,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,635,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 5,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.07.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG opened at $295.22 on Monday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $227.08 and a 1 year high of $316.72. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $291.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.75 billion, a PE ratio of 56.23 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.26. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.71%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total value of $1,992,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,626,666.10. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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 business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.