Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,424 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $10,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 175.6% during the third 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 acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 460.9% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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. In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.06, for a total transaction of $3,825,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 96,709 shares in the company, valued at $24,666,597.54. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 45,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,540,693.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,016 shares of company stock worth $7,176,180. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $279.00 to $233.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $231.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.13, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $198.52 and a fifty-two week high of $256.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $244.60 and a 200 day moving average of $238.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

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

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.