Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Bought by New Vernon Investment Management LLC

New Vernon Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 100.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,141 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for about 7.4% of New Vernon Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. New Vernon Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $6,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,305,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,462,392,000 after purchasing an additional 580,134 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,196,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $899,538,000 after purchasing an additional 383,130 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,640,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $425,511,000 after purchasing an additional 42,841 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,410,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $365,718,000 after purchasing an additional 50,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,330,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $374,408,000 after purchasing an additional 31,181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AJG. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of AJG traded down $1.28 on Tuesday, reaching $306.68. 158,982 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 850,980. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $218.63 and a 12 month high of $316.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $291.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $279.74.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 45.71%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total transaction of $1,992,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,625,146.84. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,211,438. The trade was a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.