Conning Inc. Buys New Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Conning Inc. bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AJG. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.5% in the first quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 49.0% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $925,000 after acquiring an additional 1,744 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth approximately $838,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 37.7% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 25.0% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 11,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,953,000 after acquiring an additional 2,235 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $117,020.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total value of $308,026.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $516,269.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total value of $117,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,016 shares of company stock worth $7,176,180. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $234.58 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $51.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $244.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.67. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $196.70 and a twelve month high of $256.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion for 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 business posted $1.54 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 54.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AJG. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $255.00 price target (down from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $279.00 to $233.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.