Key Points
- Arthur J. Gallagher General Counsel Walter Bay sold 15,850 shares at an average price of $255 on Dec. 19, receiving $4,041,750 and cutting his position by 16.61% to 79,549 shares (SEC Form 4 filed).
- Company performance and outlook: AJG missed quarterly EPS ($2.32 vs. $2.51 expected) while revenue rose 20.2% YoY; the firm pays a $0.65 quarterly dividend (1.0% yield) and holds a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $302.22.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) General Counsel Walter Bay sold 15,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $4,041,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 79,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,284,995. The trade was a 16.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.2%
Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $258.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.67 and a beta of 0.69. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $236.34 and a one year high of $351.23. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $256.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $287.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 11.98%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 38.86%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 426,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $147,170,000 after buying an additional 13,976 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.7% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 238,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $82,176,000 after purchasing an additional 34,014 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 20.7% in the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,671 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 11.0% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 14,693 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,073,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
AJG has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $293.00 price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $272.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Wolfe Research set a $289.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $330.00 to $277.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $302.22.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.
The company's core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.
Further Reading
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