NewEdge Wealth LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 13,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $3,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AJG. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 47.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110 shares during the period. abrdn plc increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.0% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 71,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,076,000 after acquiring an additional 12,488 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.9% during the third quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.6% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 3,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.9% in the third quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 8,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,459,000 after buying an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $337.61 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $230.08 and a fifty-two week high of $338.43. The company has a market capitalization of $85.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.78 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $302.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $295.05. 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. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its 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%. On average, 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 0.77%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 39.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AJG. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on 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 increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.00.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total value of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.