Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Takes $493,000 Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $493,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 18,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,192,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 80,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,900,000 after acquiring an additional 15,340 shares in the last quarter. PFG Advisors raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 18,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,337,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 56,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,138,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $332.02 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $230.08 and a 12 month high of $345.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $316.96 and its 200-day moving average is $299.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $84.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.92 and a beta of 0.75.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. Equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,440,499.14. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was 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 represents a 7.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on AJG. Truist Financial upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $310.43.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.