Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 36.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 401 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.7 %

AJG stock opened at $322.89 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $311.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $297.84. The company has a market capitalization of $82.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.52 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. 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 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total value of $104,669.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 44,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,422,812.98. This trade represents a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.93.

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.