Squarepoint Ops LLC Lowers Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Squarepoint Ops LLC lessened its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 82.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,346 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $723,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 1,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 44,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,575,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allen Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $341.54 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $332.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $314.96. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $244.60 and a 52-week high of $350.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.47 billion, a PE ratio of 52.38 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AJG. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note 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 note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted 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. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $318.57.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $30,029,771.80. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 45,323 shares in the company, valued at $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,510 shares of company stock worth $11,033,341 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.