Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Purchases 335 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $4,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 175.6% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 460.9% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total transaction of $117,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at $10,540,693.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total value of $308,026.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $516,269.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total transaction of $117,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,016 shares of company stock valued at $7,176,180 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AJG. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $279.00 to $233.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $255.00 price target (down from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $237.52 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $244.42 and a 200-day moving average of $238.91. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $198.52 and a 52-week high of $256.10.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 9.63%. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.05%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.