Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Increases Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,681 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $30,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,421,591,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,422,435,000 after acquiring an additional 3,851,661 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 126.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,003,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $568,619,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,441 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $163,087,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 307.2% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 742,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $210,829,000 after purchasing an additional 560,325 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $340.59 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $87.10 billion, a PE ratio of 52.24 and a beta of 0.75. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $230.08 and a 12-month high of $345.43. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $321.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $301.01.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (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%. Analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total value of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 69,774 shares in the company, valued at $22,536,304.26. This trade represents a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. The trade was a 7.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AJG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $313.20.

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