New York Life Investment Management LLC Has $10.38 Million Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 36,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,215 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $10,378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $333.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $230.08 and a 12-month high of $334.69. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $301.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $294.66. The firm has a market cap of $84.86 billion, a PE ratio of 51.10 and a beta of 0.77.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 predict 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 will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total transaction of $104,669.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 44,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. This represents a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were 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 worth $4,972,964 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. 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 note on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.00.

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.