Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) CFO Douglas K. Howell Sells 4,588 Shares of Stock

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 4,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.92, for a total value of $1,050,284.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 127,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,288,482.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $228.88 on Tuesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $167.93 and a 52 week high of $229.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $49.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $218.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $205.91.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.11% and a return on equity of 18.65%. The business had revenue of $2.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $231.00 to $233.00 in a research report on Friday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Raymond James raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.08.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $1,431,788,000. Boston Partners bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at about $418,715,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 670.4% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,302,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $286,010,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,502 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 39,117.3% in the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 987,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $216,824,000 after acquiring an additional 984,974 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,143,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $404,069,000 after acquiring an additional 619,008 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to businesses and organizations worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.