Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Raises Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $3,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 108,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,823,000 after purchasing an additional 2,681 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,421,591,000. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 92,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,256,000 after buying an additional 3,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $344,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $313.20.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $340.59 on Monday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $230.08 and a one year high of $345.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market cap of $87.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.24 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $321.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $301.01.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 39.88%.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total value of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 69,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,536,304.26. This trade represents a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.