Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Hits New 1-Year High at $299.39

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $299.39 and last traded at $298.95, with a volume of 197935 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $294.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $252.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.82.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $64.38 billion, a PE ratio of 59.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $281.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $260.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 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 the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total transaction of $2,634,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 93,730 shares in the company, valued at $24,693,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total value of $2,634,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 93,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,693,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total transaction of $4,244,400.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at $93,121,853.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,348 shares of company stock valued at $13,342,910 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,214,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 116,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,287,000 after acquiring an additional 20,723 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $255,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $551,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,003,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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.