Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) CAO Richard C. Cary Sells 10,000 Shares

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total value of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,536,304.26. This represents a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $324.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.81 and a beta of 0.77. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $230.08 and a 52-week high of $325.10. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $292.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $291.12.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. Research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.00.

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

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $1,421,591,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,422,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $801,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745,283 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 126.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,003,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $568,619,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,779,248,000 after buying an additional 787,265 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.