Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Bought by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 16.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 112,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,528 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned approximately 0.05% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $25,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,664,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,202,742,000 after purchasing an additional 726,485 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $1,431,788,000. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,209,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,415,345,000 after purchasing an additional 34,999 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,000,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,139,872,000 after purchasing an additional 90,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.7% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,609,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $880,442,000 after purchasing an additional 74,974 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $230.52 on Thursday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $198.52 and a 1-year high of $256.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $244.49 and a 200-day moving average of $238.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $50.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.92, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.68.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 9.63%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.05%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total value of $117,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 45,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,540,693.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total transaction of $308,026.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $516,269.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total value of $117,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,016 shares of company stock valued at $7,176,180. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AJG. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $255.00 price target (down from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $279.00 to $233.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

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.