Insider Selling: Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) CAO Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total value of $3,229,900.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG traded up $2.79 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $324.79. 1,099,538 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,863,780. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $230.08 and a 1-year high of $325.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.81 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $292.59 and a 200 day moving average of $291.12.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.4 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 36.81%.

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

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $959,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. W Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% in the third quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $940,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covenant Partners LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 5,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AJG shares. Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned 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 $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.