Nuveen Asset Management LLC Buys 23,182 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 683,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,182 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 0.27% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $193,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $338.19 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $330.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $311.28. 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. has a 1 year low of $244.60 and a 1 year high of $350.70. The firm has a market cap of $86.61 billion, a PE ratio of 51.87 and a beta of 0.78.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The company’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.45 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $318.57.

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