Scott R. Hudson Sells 18,700 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG – Get Rating) VP Scott R. Hudson sold 18,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.66, for a total transaction of $3,565,342.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 42,231 shares in the company, valued at $8,051,762.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $185.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $191.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.43. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $148.24 and a 1 year high of $202.37. The stock has a market cap of $39.33 billion, a PE ratio of 35.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.69.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 18.64%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 2nd. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.31%.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Karp Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Tsfg LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 48.8% in the third quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Affiance Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $211.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $215.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $215.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.86.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance 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.