Pacer Advisors Inc. Buys 17,514 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 128.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,514 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $7,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 175.6% in the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 460.9% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 12,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.65, for a total transaction of $2,925,233.85. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 322,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,712,707.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $10,540,693.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 12,309 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.65, for a total transaction of $2,925,233.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 322,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,712,707.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,016 shares of company stock worth $7,176,180 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:AJG opened at $247.79 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $54.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $185.43 and a twelve month high of $256.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $242.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.56.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.09 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 54.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $249.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $279.00 to $233.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.77.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.