Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 146 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $1,502,000. C WorldWide Group Holding A S raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S now owns 6,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,859,000 after buying an additional 812 shares during the period. World Equity Group Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 3,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $883,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 61,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,512,000 after acquiring an additional 10,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 32,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,260,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 69,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,536,304.26. This represents a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $332.06 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $230.08 and a 12-month high of $332.69. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $299.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $294.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.57 billion, a PE ratio of 50.93 and a beta of 0.77.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 36.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised shares of 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. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.