Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $31.38 Million Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 110,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,487 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $31,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in 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 period. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at $5,031,487.89. This represents a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $322.42 on Monday. 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 PE ratio of 49.45 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $292.02 and a 200-day moving average of $290.38. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $230.08 and a 1-year 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

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.