Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. Has $9.26 Million Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $9,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 67,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,893,000 after buying an additional 11,752 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 109,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,450,000 after buying an additional 14,860 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,237,000 after buying an additional 618,362 shares in the last quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 48,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,830,000 after buying an additional 3,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 183,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,732,000 after buying an additional 2,092 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AJG. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.00.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total value of $104,669.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at $14,422,812.98. The trade was a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of AJG opened at $325.28 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $230.08 and a 52 week high of $329.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.89 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $297.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $293.41.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly 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, analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.88%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.