Lincoln National Corp Increases Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Lincoln National Corp grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 36.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,351 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 112,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,206,000 after purchasing an additional 15,528 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 92,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,713,000 after purchasing an additional 2,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $2,946,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.06, for a total value of $3,825,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 96,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,666,597.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total value of $308,026.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $516,269.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.0 %

AJG stock opened at $245.08 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.55 billion, a PE ratio of 49.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.69. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $198.52 and a 52 week high of $256.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $243.71 and a 200 day moving average of $239.27.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 10.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on AJG shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target 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. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $255.00 target price (down previously from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $253.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $255.31.

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.