Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Boosts Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1,881.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 34,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 32,431 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $8,839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $949,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% in the third quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 1,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $501,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.9% in the third quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.1% during the third quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 10,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,604,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.00.

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

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly 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. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,552,814.40. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of AJG opened at $204.89 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $211.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $190.75 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.64 billion, a PE ratio of 33.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.54.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.31%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

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.