Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Bought by Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD

Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 20.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,228 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for about 0.7% of Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,091,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% during the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $323.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.66 and a beta of 0.75. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $230.08 and a 1 year high of $345.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $307.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $296.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total transaction of $3,229,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 69,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,536,304.26. The trade was a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.93.

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 business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.