Bath Savings Trust Co Boosts Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Bath Savings Trust Co lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 36,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,170 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up about 0.9% of Bath Savings Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Bath Savings Trust Co’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $9,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 158,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,728,000 after purchasing an additional 21,303 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at about $1,601,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 27.8% in the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 5,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at about $8,439,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 31,912.1% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 140,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,885,000 after buying an additional 139,775 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $215.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $227.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $255.57. The stock has a market cap of $55.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.67. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $195.00 and a one year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.The company’s revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 45.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AJG. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $235.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $226.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $273.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $19,552,814.40. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.