Insider Selling: Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) CFO Sells 5,000 Shares of Stock

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) CFO Douglas Howell sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total transaction of $1,290,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 95,777 shares in the company, valued at $24,715,254.85. This trade represents a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG traded up $1.31 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $262.79. 1,329,641 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,597,161. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.28 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $236.34 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $254.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $286.41.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.19). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 11.98%. The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 currently 38.86%.

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

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% in the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research set a $289.00 price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $328.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $272.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $293.00 target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $330.00 to $277.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $302.22.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.