Richard Cary Sells 1,000 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) CAO Richard Cary sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.86, for a total transaction of $252,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 46,819 shares in the company, valued at $11,838,652.34. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:AJG opened at $239.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.69, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.50. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $190.75 and a 52 week high of $313.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $254.17 and a 200 day moving average of $229.73.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 9.96%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $291.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $289.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,613,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,264,359,000 after purchasing an additional 830,252 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,925,062,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 123.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,887,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,523,636,000 after buying an additional 3,253,498 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,242,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $702,182,000 after acquiring an additional 409,145 shares during the period. Finally, Gtcr LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth $514,112,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company. The company helps businesses, institutions and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance and related services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, risk management, claims administration, actuarial services, captive insurance and wholesale brokerage. Gallagher arranges commercial property and casualty coverage, personal insurance, specialty insurance and employee benefit programs, while also providing services designed to help clients manage workplace, liability and other operational risks.

Founded in 1927 by Arthur J.