David S. Johnson Sells 325 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total transaction of $104,669.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 44,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. The trade was a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:AJG traded up $2.79 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $324.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,099,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,863,780. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $292.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $291.12. 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 company has a market capitalization of $81.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.81 and a beta of 0.77. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $230.08 and a 12 month high of $325.10.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 47.4% during the third quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 2,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.4% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 59,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,785,000 after buying an additional 2,537 shares during the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 2,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $835,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Terra Nova Asset Management LLC raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC now owns 10,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,846,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.00.

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.