Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Reduces Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 38,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,211 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $8,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AJG. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 175.6% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 460.9% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.06, for a total value of $3,825,900.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 96,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,666,597.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total transaction of $117,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 29,016 shares of company stock valued at $7,176,180. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $234.58 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $244.73 and a 200-day moving average of $238.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $196.70 and a 52-week high of $256.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.21 billion, a PE ratio of 52.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.68.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.54 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 54.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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