Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $346.95 and last traded at $343.93, with a volume of 85547 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $340.76.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AJG shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $313.20.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $323.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $301.67. The company has a market cap of $87.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 39.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total transaction of $104,669.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 44,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. This trade represents a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total value of $760,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,031,487.89. This trade represents a 13.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 67,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,893,000 after buying an additional 11,752 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,237,000 after acquiring an additional 618,362 shares during the period. Running Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 48,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,830,000 after acquiring an additional 3,983 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 183,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,732,000 after acquiring an additional 2,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 22,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,217 shares in the last quarter. 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 segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.