Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Buys 71,544 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 561,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 71,544 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $159,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.6% during the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 23,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,663,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $951,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.4% during the third quarter. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC now owns 5,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $319,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:AJG opened at $322.42 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $291.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $80.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.45 and a beta of 0.77. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $230.08 and a twelve month high of $323.55.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. Analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.53 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AJG. Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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 report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total value of $760,825.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,031,487.89. This represents a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.