Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Hits New 52-Week High at $300.92

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $300.92 and last traded at $300.92, with a volume of 43318 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $297.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $282.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.82.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $284.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $262.15.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $2,103,020.00. Following the sale, the president now directly 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 is available through the SEC website. In other news, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total value of $4,244,400.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 329,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,121,853.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at $9,853,685.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,145 shares of company stock worth $10,629,900. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 361,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $81,281,000 after acquiring an additional 28,359 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,841,000. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 70.4% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 12,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,213,000 after buying an additional 5,308 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 194,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,649,000 after buying an additional 20,302 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth $979,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.