Walter Bay Sells 15,850 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) General Counsel Walter Bay sold 15,850 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $4,041,750.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 79,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,284,995. This represents a 16.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG stock opened at $260.77 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $66.97 billion, a PE ratio of 38.98 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50 day moving average of $255.88 and a 200-day moving average of $287.76. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $236.34 and a 12-month high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.19). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 13.58%.The business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $328.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Mizuho initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Monday, December 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $276.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $329.00 to $285.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $302.22.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% during the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during 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. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.