Meridian Wealth Management LLC Invests $205,000 in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)
Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG – Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,664,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,202,742,000 after purchasing an additional 726,485 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,209,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,415,345,000 after acquiring an additional 34,999 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,000,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,139,872,000 after acquiring an additional 90,842 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,610,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $583,249,000 after purchasing an additional 13,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,572,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $586,277,000 after purchasing an additional 88,861 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.8 % Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $257.67 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.16, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $198.52 and a 1 year high of $258.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $244.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $240.36. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.03 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.08 earnings per share for the current year. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 48.58%. Insider Activity In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 96,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,666,597.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 15,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 96,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,666,597.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total transaction of $308,026.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $516,269.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,207 shares of company stock worth $8,108,486 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target 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. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on 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. Argus upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $255.00 target price (down from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.77. Read Our Latest Stock Report on AJG About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Free Report) 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.
