Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Short Interest Up 26.4% in December

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 4,926,285 shares, a growth of 26.4% from the December 15th total of 3,898,403 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,500,053 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,500,053 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $2.17 on Friday, hitting $258.32. 2,126,414 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,491,366. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $236.34 and a 12-month high of $351.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $66.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.61 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $253.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $280.62.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 11.98%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total transaction of $1,032,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 17,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,472,271.97. This represents a 18.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $4,041,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 79,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,284,995. This trade represents a 16.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 32,100 shares of company stock valued at $8,243,865 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,096,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,954,625,000 after acquiring an additional 685,278 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,299,674,000 after buying an additional 3,330,205 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.9% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,783,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,649,477,000 after buying an additional 101,298 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,891,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,373,403,000 after acquiring an additional 147,587 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,194,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,228,156,000 after acquiring an additional 45,256 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AJG. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Mizuho set a $277.00 price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $329.00 to $285.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $290.50.

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.