Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $340.18 and last traded at $339.17, with a volume of 32385 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $337.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.1 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $305.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $296.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.30 and a beta of 0.77.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.88%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total value of $760,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,031,487.89. This trade represents a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total transaction of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,536,304.26. The trade was a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 84,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,825,000 after buying an additional 998 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.5% in the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 11.4% during the third quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 1,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 18,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,128,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.