Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Reduces Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc decreased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 33,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 820 shares during the quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $7,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 374.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $362,000. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 20.2% during the third quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $255.00 price target (down previously from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $279.00 to $233.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total transaction of $117,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at $10,540,693.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at $10,540,693.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 12,309 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.65, for a total value of $2,925,233.85. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 322,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,712,707.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,016 shares of company stock valued at $7,176,180 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG traded up $0.95 on Monday, reaching $237.52. 669,482 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 873,225. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $198.52 and a twelve month high of $256.10. The stock has a market cap of $51.85 billion, a PE ratio of 53.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.68. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $244.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.91.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.60 dividend. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.05%.

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.