Insider Selling: Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) CAO Sells $3,229,900.00 in Stock

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total value of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 69,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,536,304.26. The trade was a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $321.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $293.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $291.61. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $230.08 and a 1 year high of $329.60. The company has a market cap of $80.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.32 and a beta of 0.77.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.81%.

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

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 2,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 59,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,785,000 after purchasing an additional 2,537 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 2,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $835,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Terra Nova Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC now owns 10,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Piper Sandler upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.00.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.