Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $3,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the third 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 during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on AJG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” 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 increased their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.9 %

AJG opened at $324.79 on Thursday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $230.08 and a twelve month high of $325.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $292.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $291.12. The company has a market cap of $81.13 billion, a PE ratio of 49.81 and a beta of 0.77.

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 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total value of $877,569.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total transaction of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares in the company, valued at $22,536,304.26. This trade represents a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,725 shares of company stock valued at $4,972,964 in the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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 business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.