Scott R. Hudson Sells 7,510 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE AJG traded down $2.42 on Friday, hitting $332.02. 2,675,702 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,148,597. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $230.08 and a 52-week high of $345.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company has a market capitalization of $84.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.92 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $316.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $299.19.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. Research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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 segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.