Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Hits New 52-Week High at $300.92

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $300.92 and last traded at $300.92, with a volume of 43318 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $297.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $252.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $282.00 to $301.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.82.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $65.50 billion, a PE ratio of 60.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $283.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $261.39.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.07, for a total value of $2,482,959.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at $21,654,772.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total value of $2,103,020.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,710 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.07, for a total transaction of $2,482,959.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,654,772.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,448 shares of company stock valued at $15,445,930. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% during the second quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% 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 entities and individuals 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.