Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Short Interest Up 32.6% in May

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,990,000 shares, an increase of 32.6% from the April 30th total of 3,010,000 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,490,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $318.57.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $345.61 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $333.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $316.17. The stock has a market cap of $88.51 billion, a PE ratio of 53.01 and a beta of 0.78. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $250.72 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total transaction of $342,040.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 45,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,502,278.92. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,029,771.80. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,510 shares of company stock valued at $11,033,341. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,411,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,499,185,000 after acquiring an additional 739,130 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,372,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,997,767,000 after acquiring an additional 4,815,007 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,067,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,857,737,000 after acquiring an additional 305,876 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,327,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,779,248,000 after purchasing an additional 787,265 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 engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.