Insider Selling: Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) General Counsel Sells $3,240,960.00 in Stock

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) General Counsel Walter Bay sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total transaction of $3,240,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 71,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,254,543.36. This represents a 14.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 2.8%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $267.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average is $249.63 and its 200-day moving average is $225.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.54 billion, a PE ratio of 44.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.50. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $190.75 and a fifty-two week high of $313.55.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 9.96%.Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 46.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23,248.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 86,171,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,782,367,000 after acquiring an additional 85,802,321 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,613,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,264,359,000 after acquiring an additional 830,252 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,953,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,834,682,000 after acquiring an additional 62,518 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $1,925,062,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 123.5% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,887,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,523,636,000 after purchasing an additional 3,253,498 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on AJG. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $299.00 to $296.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $290.28.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.