Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) CAO Richard Cary Sells 1,000 Shares

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) CAO Richard Cary sold 1,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.86, for a total value of $252,860.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,838,652.34. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of AJG opened at $241.64 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $190.75 and a one year high of $313.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $254.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $229.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $61.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.50.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. The company 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%.The business’s revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 46.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on AJG. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Barclays increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $289.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Rench Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. now owns 52,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,022,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.1% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 149,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,389,000 after purchasing an additional 9,966 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 303.7% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 638,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,604,000 after purchasing an additional 480,413 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 97.9% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Archford Capital Strategies LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company. The company helps businesses, institutions and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance and related services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, risk management, claims administration, actuarial services, captive insurance and wholesale brokerage. Gallagher arranges commercial property and casualty coverage, personal insurance, specialty insurance and employee benefit programs, while also providing services designed to help clients manage workplace, liability and other operational risks.

Founded in 1927 by Arthur J.