Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $346.95 and last traded at $343.93, with a volume of 85547 shares. The stock had previously closed at $340.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on AJG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $313.20.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $323.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $301.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total transaction of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,536,304.26. The trade was a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total value of $760,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at $5,031,487.89. The trade was a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 67,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,893,000 after purchasing an additional 11,752 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $249,237,000 after buying an additional 618,362 shares during the period. Running Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 48,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,830,000 after buying an additional 3,983 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 183,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,732,000 after acquiring an additional 2,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 22,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,217 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.