Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Reduces Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lessened its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 61.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,610 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 61.3% during the 4th quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 1,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 98,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,911 shares during the last quarter. Barlow Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $23,437,000. AA Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,476,000 after buying an additional 698 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:AJG opened at $216.37 on Wednesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $195.00 and a 52 week high of $351.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $223.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $252.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $226.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Mizuho upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Evercore reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $279.00 to $249.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.82.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.