Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Short Interest Update

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,240,000 shares, a decline of 16.7% from the February 28th total of 3,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,810,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on AJG. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $313.20.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.4 %

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded down $1.54 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $343.70. The company had a trading volume of 903,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,217,970. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $230.08 and a fifty-two week high of $350.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.71 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $322.73 and its 200-day moving average is $301.35.

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 (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 39.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total transaction of $760,825.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,031,487.89. The trade was a 13.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,440,499.14. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allred Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $959,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $940,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brendel Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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 segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.