Moran Wealth Management LLC Takes $202,000 Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $325.50 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $310.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $297.67. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $230.08 and a twelve month high of $345.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.92 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 39.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,440,499.14. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total transaction of $760,825.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at $5,031,487.89. The trade was a 13.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AJG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised shares of 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two equities research 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, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.93.

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.