Moran Wealth Management LLC Makes New $202,000 Investment in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% during the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 87 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total value of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,536,304.26. This represents a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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 directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,440,499.14. This represents a 16.50 % 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 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $325.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $82.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.92 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s fifty day moving average is $310.32 and its 200 day moving average is $297.67. 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 $345.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 39.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.