Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) VP Sells 3,500 Shares

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) VP Christopher Mead sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total transaction of $899,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,711,755.46. This represents a 13.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of AJG traded up $2.00 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $259.45. 1,340,743 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,343,222. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $66.50 billion, a PE ratio of 43.03, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $243.60 and its 200-day moving average is $224.76. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $190.75 and a 52 week high of $313.55.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm’s revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AJG. Mizuho raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $261.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $299.00 to $296.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Argus boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $267.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $290.28.

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

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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.