Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 3,537 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 526,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,537 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.21% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $149,549,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AJG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of 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. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “market perform” 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $313.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total transaction of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares in the company, valued at $22,536,304.26. This represents a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $344.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $324.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $301.97. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $230.08 and a 12 month high of $346.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.83 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.88%.

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.