Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Short Interest Up 27.7% in December

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of 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 trading volume of 1,730,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.4 days.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG traded down $0.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $295.22. The company had a trading volume of 1,261,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,133,369. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $291.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $286.85. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $227.08 and a fifty-two week high of $316.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.23 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its 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. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 45.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $292.00 to $286.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.07.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total transaction of $1,992,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,626,666.10. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This represents a 16.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.