Directional Asset Management Invests $1.27 Million in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Directional Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,271,000. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up about 1.1% of Directional Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter worth $39,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 668.2% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 19,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $219.24 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $217.28 and a 200-day moving average of $243.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $56.37 billion, a PE ratio of 35.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $195.00 and a 52-week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.19 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 45.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $235.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.94.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.