Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Reaches New 1-Year High at $300.92

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $300.92 and last traded at $300.92, with a volume of 43318 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $297.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AJG shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $282.00 to $301.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.82.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $283.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $261.39. The company has a market capitalization of $65.50 billion, a PE ratio of 60.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 10.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total value of $2,103,020.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 33,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,853,685.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 33,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,853,685.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total transaction of $2,181,530.22. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 36,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,560,583.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,448 shares of company stock valued at $15,445,930 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,763,177,000 after purchasing an additional 727,325 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,832,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,208,208,000 after buying an additional 398,350 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,624,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $656,217,000 after acquiring an additional 14,366 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,640,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $425,511,000 after acquiring an additional 42,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,611,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $402,206,000 after purchasing an additional 38,886 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.