Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) General Counsel Walter Bay Sells 15,850 Shares of Stock

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) General Counsel Walter Bay sold 15,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $4,041,750.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 79,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,284,995. The trade was a 16.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $258.70 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $256.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.95. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $236.34 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The company has a market cap of $66.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.67 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 11.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.86%.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AJG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,096,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,954,625,000 after purchasing an additional 685,278 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,299,674,000 after buying an additional 3,330,205 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,783,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,649,477,000 after buying an additional 101,298 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,891,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,373,403,000 after acquiring an additional 147,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,194,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,228,156,000 after acquiring an additional 45,256 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, October 31st. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $328.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $302.22.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.