Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Bought by Welch Group LLC

Welch Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 264,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises 2.1% of Welch Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Welch Group LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $60,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Triumph Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. NFSG Corp grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4,033.3% during the 3rd quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 57.4% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG opened at $276.46 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.86 billion, a PE ratio of 42.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business’s 50-day moving average is $248.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.55. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $190.75 and a 1 year high of $277.45.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.39% and a return on equity of 13.90%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.15 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, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 7th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 7th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, October 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $296.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $278.00 to $255.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott Hudson sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.13, for a total transaction of $3,169,560.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 90,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,840,902.06. This represents a 11.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Richard Cary sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.86, for a total value of $252,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,838,652.34. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 28,500 shares of company stock worth $7,562,950 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company. The firm helps businesses, public entities and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance and related services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, wholesale brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, claims administration and risk management consulting. Gallagher places commercial and personal insurance coverage and provides services related to property and casualty risks, health care, benefits, and other specialized insurance needs.

Founded in 1927 by Arthur J.