Axecap Investments LLC Sells 7,946 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Axecap Investments LLC lessened its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 90.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,946 shares during the quarter. Axecap Investments LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $324.25 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.73 and a beta of 0.77. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $230.08 and a 1-year high of $324.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $292.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $290.49.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. On average, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total value of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total transaction of $760,825.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at $5,031,487.89. This represents a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.00.

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