Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 58,955 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 710,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 58,955 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.28% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $201,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $1,421,591,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% in 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 buying an additional 3,851,661 shares during the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $719,489,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,327,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910,471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $801,115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,745,283 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.4 %

AJG stock opened at $332.23 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $330.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $306.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.96 and a beta of 0.64. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $232.27 and a fifty-two week high of $350.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $30,029,771.80. The trade was a 7.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AJG. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $315.27.

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.