Insider Selling: Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) President Sells $2,103,020.00 in Stock

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total value of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 33,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of AJG opened at $297.39 on Monday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $218.63 and a one year high of $300.66. The company has a market cap of $65.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $283.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $261.39.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AJG shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $282.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $252.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.82.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,763,177,000 after buying an additional 727,325 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $1,308,316,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.0% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,832,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,208,208,000 after buying an additional 398,350 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,624,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $656,217,000 after buying an additional 14,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,640,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $425,511,000 after buying an additional 42,841 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.