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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,370,000 shares, an increase of 27.7% from the December 15th total of 7,340,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,730,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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

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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AJG. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $292.00 to $286.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.07.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $295.22. 1,261,458 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,133,369. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $291.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $286.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.23 and a beta of 0.76. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $227.08 and a 12 month high of $316.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.26. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 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.