Insider Selling: Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) CFO Sells $1,290,250.00 in Stock

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) CFO Douglas Howell sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total value of $1,290,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 95,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,715,254.85. This trade represents a 4.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $259.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $236.34 and a one year high of $351.23. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $253.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $285.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.73 and a beta of 0.69.

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). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 13.58%.The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% during the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $329.00 to $285.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $330.00 to $277.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $328.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $302.22.

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.