Insider Selling: Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) CAO Sells $618,000.00 in Stock

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) CAO Richard Cary sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,850,714. This represents a 5.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $210.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $190.75 and a 1-year high of $337.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $210.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $229.38.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.31%.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AJG shares. Citigroup raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $280.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.00.

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.