Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Takes Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $700,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 175.6% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 460.9% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total transaction of $308,026.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $516,269.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total value of $117,020.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total value of $308,026.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,023 shares in the company, valued at $516,269.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,016 shares of company stock worth $7,176,180. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $2.50 during trading on Thursday, reaching $250.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 525,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 880,958. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $186.88 and a one year high of $256.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $242.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $237.56.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.40 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 18.49%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on AJG shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $279.00 to $233.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 12th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $246.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $255.77.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.