Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Sets New 12-Month High at $294.81

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $294.81 and last traded at $293.92, with a volume of 56972 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $292.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $252.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $282.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $276.82.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $278.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $258.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $65.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.27, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.72.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total transaction of $2,181,530.22. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 36,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,560,583.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,654,772.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total transaction of $2,181,530.22. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 36,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,560,583.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,348 shares of company stock valued at $13,342,910 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% during the 2nd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.