Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Short Interest Update

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,340,000 shares, a growth of 157.5% from the November 30th total of 2,850,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,460,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This trade represents a 16.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total value of $1,992,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,626,666.10. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 24.7% in the second quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $721,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $992,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.3% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 22,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,757,000 after purchasing an additional 2,074 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $286.54 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $222.88 and a twelve month high of $316.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $292.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $284.29. The company has a market cap of $71.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.74.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 45.71%.

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.