Cetera Investment Advisers Has $18.77 Million Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,584 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $18,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 67,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,893,000 after purchasing an additional 11,752 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 618,362 shares in the last quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.9% in the fourth 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. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 22,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,217 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. now owns 141,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,069,000 after buying an additional 17,196 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. The trade was a 7.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total transaction of $104,669.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 44,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,422,812.98. This trade represents a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,835 shares of company stock valued at $5,839,830. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $338.65 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $244.35 and a 52 week high of $350.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $330.34 and a 200 day moving average of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.94 and a beta of 0.78.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two equities 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $315.33.

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.