Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. decreased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 282,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,968 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $80,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 1,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.8% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 3,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $895,000 after acquiring an additional 881 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,256,000 after purchasing an additional 2,384 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AJG. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $318.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at $30,029,771.80. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of AJG stock opened at $342.12 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $87.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.47 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $330.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $312.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $244.60 and a 12-month high of $350.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.45 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

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