Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $318.72 and last traded at $317.62, with a volume of 47484 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $316.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Barclays increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted 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 issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $80.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.45 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $291.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

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

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total transaction of $760,825.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at $5,031,487.89. This trade represents a 13.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.6% in the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 23,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,663,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $951,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC now owns 5,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,407,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter valued at approximately $319,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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