Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,012 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $13,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 67,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,893,000 after purchasing an additional 11,752 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,237,000 after acquiring an additional 618,362 shares in the last quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 48,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,830,000 after acquiring an additional 3,983 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 183,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,732,000 after acquiring an additional 2,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 22,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,217 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total transaction of $760,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,031,487.89. This represents a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $877,569.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,725 shares of company stock valued at $4,972,964. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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. TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.1 %

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $325.50 on Thursday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $230.08 and a twelve month high of $345.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $310.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $297.67. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $82.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.92 and a beta of 0.75.

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 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.88%.

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