Christopher Mead Sells 3,500 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) VP Christopher Mead sold 3,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total transaction of $899,570.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,223 shares in the company, valued at $5,711,755.46. The trade was a 13.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $263.24 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $244.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $225.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $67.47 billion, a PE ratio of 43.66, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.50. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $190.75 and a 52 week high of $313.55.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.33 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 46.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $276.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $265.00 in a report on Thursday, June 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $291.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $290.28.

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.