SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. Sells 700 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 45.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $234,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 67,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,893,000 after buying an additional 11,752 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 109,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,450,000 after acquiring an additional 14,860 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,237,000 after acquiring an additional 618,362 shares during the last quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 48,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,830,000 after purchasing an additional 3,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 183,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,732,000 after purchasing an additional 2,092 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of 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. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $322.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $80.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.45 and a beta of 0.77. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $230.08 and a 1 year high of $323.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $291.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total transaction of $760,825.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,031,487.89. This trade represents a 13.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total value of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,440,499.14. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.