Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Has $340,000 Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at $5,031,487.89. This trade represents a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AJG. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on 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. TD Cowen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $313.20.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $318.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market cap of $81.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.92 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $326.40 and its 200-day moving average is $302.40. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $230.08 and a one year high of $350.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.88%.

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 segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.