Dearborn Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Dearborn Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 133,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,946 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for about 1.7% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $34,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $9,877,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,299,674,000 after buying an additional 3,330,205 shares in the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 65,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,398,000 after buying an additional 6,090 shares in the last quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 241.4% in the 3rd quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 49,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,332,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cincinnati Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,824,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $226.00 to $211.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $280.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $235.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.00.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,850,714. This represents a 5.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $216.58 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $210.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $229.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $190.75 and a one year high of $330.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.31%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.