Everence Capital Management Inc. Buys 3,120 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 69.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,120 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of AJG stock opened at $280.40 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $291.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $284.75. The stock has a market cap of $70.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.76. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $223.43 and a 12 month high of $316.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 45.71%.

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

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,211,438. The trade was a 16.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total value of $1,992,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,626,666.10. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.57.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.