Key Points
- Arthur J. Gallagher General Counsel Walter Bay sold 12,000 AJG shares at an average price of $270.08, generating $3.24 million. His remaining direct ownership fell 14.41% to 71,292 shares.
- AJG recently reported quarterly EPS of $2.84, beating estimates, while revenue rose 24.3% year over year to $3.95 billion. Analysts expect approximately $13.27 in full-year EPS.
- The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, equivalent to an annualized $2.80 payout and a 1.1% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $290.28.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) General Counsel Walter Bay sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total transaction of $3,240,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 71,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,254,543.36. The trade was a 14.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance
Shares of AJG opened at $266.16 on Thursday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $190.75 and a 12-month high of $313.55. The stock has a market cap of $68.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.14, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $247.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $225.36.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.33 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 46.43%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,587,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23,248.0% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 86,171,395 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,782,367,000 after purchasing an additional 85,802,321 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 94.4% in the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,696 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,695,000 after acquiring an additional 3,251 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 25.4% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,791,000 after acquiring an additional 2,465 shares during the period. Finally, Saudi Central Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.9% during the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 17,997 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,132,000 after acquiring an additional 8,518 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AJG. Jefferies Financial Group raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $265.00 in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $261.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $290.28.
View Our Latest Report on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
(
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.
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