Fisher Funds Management LTD Acquires 45,762 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG
by Jessica Moore · The Cerbat GemFisher Funds Management LTD lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG – Free Report) by 49.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 137,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,762 shares during the period. Fisher Funds Management LTD owned approximately 0.05% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $35,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% in the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.94.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $224.21 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $195.00 and a one year high of $351.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $216.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $246.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $57.65 billion, a PE ratio of 36.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.68.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The business had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.53%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the 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 represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.