Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) CFO Sells $8,528,549.40 in Stock

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) CFO Douglas Howell sold 30,996 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.15, for a total transaction of $8,528,549.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 92,961 shares in the company, valued at $25,578,219.15. The trade was a 25.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 5.6%

Shares of AJG traded up $15.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $288.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,234,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,892,214. The stock has a market cap of $74.01 billion, a PE ratio of 44.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $190.75 and a 52 week high of $289.93. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $248.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.74.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.01. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.39% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The company had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 7th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,242,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $702,182,000 after purchasing an additional 409,145 shares in the last quarter. Gtcr LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at $514,112,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,970,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $426,887,000 after purchasing an additional 101,431 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,854,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $401,645,000 after purchasing an additional 346,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.3% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,453,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,743,000 after purchasing an additional 3,905 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target to $319 from $295 and maintained a Buy rating, citing potential upside. Wells Fargo also issued a Buy rating. Read More. · Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: A report on AJG’s Q3 earnings call pointed to strong growth, supporting the company’s longer-term outlook. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: AJG named Tom Doyle CEO of its Benefits & HR Consulting division. The leadership change may provide continuity, but no immediate financial impact was reported. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Citi downgraded AJG to Neutral, saying the risk-reward profile is more balanced, while BMO cut its rating to Market Perform, citing profit-taking. Their $300 and $295 targets, respectively, suggest limited upside at the cited share price and may temper bullish sentiment. Read More. · Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Vice President Christopher Mead sold 7,590 shares, reducing his direct holding by 25.4%. Insider sales can weigh on sentiment, although the filing does not explain the reason for the transaction. Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $284.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $300.00 in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.05.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company. The firm helps businesses, public entities and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance and related services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, wholesale brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, claims administration and risk management consulting. Gallagher places commercial and personal insurance coverage and provides services related to property and casualty risks, health care, benefits, and other specialized insurance needs.

Founded in 1927 by Arthur J.