Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Hits New 52-Week High at $285.78

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $285.78 and last traded at $285.45, with a volume of 124201 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $279.37.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AJG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $282.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a research report on Friday. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $273.27.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.6 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $261.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $249.07. The company has a market capitalization of $62.00 billion, a PE ratio of 56.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.58%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,717 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total transaction of $2,240,269.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 44,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,485,587. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,717 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $2,240,269.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 44,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,485,587. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.24, for a total value of $205,792.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 44,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,496,312.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 53,165 shares of company stock valued at $13,629,049 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AJG. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 361,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $81,281,000 after buying an additional 28,359 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth approximately $3,841,000. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 70.4% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 12,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,308 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 112,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,206,000 after purchasing an additional 15,528 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 11.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 194,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,649,000 after buying an additional 20,302 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.