Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) VP Christopher E. Mead Sells 2,900 Shares

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $319.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $291.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.04 and a beta of 0.77. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $230.08 and a twelve month high of $320.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. Equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on AJG. TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.00.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $959,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. W Advisors LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $940,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% in the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covenant Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the third quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 5,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,499,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.