2,711 Shares in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Bought by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $770,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% in 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 in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report 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 stock a “hold” rating in a 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 4.7 %

NYSE AJG opened at $323.81 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $307.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $296.99. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $230.08 and a one year high of $345.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.66 and a beta of 0.75. 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. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total value 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. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,725 shares of company stock valued at $4,972,964 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.