Appleton Partners Inc. MA Has $13.72 Million Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA decreased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 48,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 180 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises about 1.0% of Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $13,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,305,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,462,392,000 after purchasing an additional 580,134 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,932,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,513,199,000 after buying an additional 47,656 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,490,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,541,044,000 after acquiring an additional 79,429 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,196,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $899,538,000 after acquiring an additional 383,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,330,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $374,408,000 after purchasing an additional 31,181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $322.42 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $230.08 and a one year high of $323.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $80.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.45 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $291.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.91.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.53 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. 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 36.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given 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 an average target price of $307.00.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total value of $877,569.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total value of $760,825.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,031,487.89. This trade represents a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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 business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.