Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Short Interest Down 16.3% in September

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,370,000 shares, a decline of 16.3% from the September 15th total of 2,830,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 818,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total transaction of $4,244,400.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,121,853.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total transaction of $1,799,520.10. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 30,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,536,855.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total transaction of $4,244,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,121,853.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 44,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,622,660 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $992,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,472,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% during the second quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,409,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of AJG stock traded up $1.95 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $289.52. 998,906 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 847,854. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $218.63 and a 52-week high of $301.04. The stock has a market cap of $63.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $288.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $267.04.

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. The company had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank Of America (Bofa) increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $287.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.