Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Short Interest Update

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) saw a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,110,000 shares, an increase of 6.0% from the March 31st total of 1,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 867,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AJG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $255.00 price objective (down previously from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $279.00 to $233.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.31.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded up $0.59 during trading on Thursday, reaching $239.39. The company had a trading volume of 173,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 862,733. The company has a fifty day moving average of $243.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $239.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.69. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $198.52 and a 12 month high of $256.10.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.08. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 48.58%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total transaction of $117,020.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total transaction of $308,026.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $516,269.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total transaction of $117,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,016 shares of company stock worth $7,176,180. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AJG. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,323,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,321,493,000 after purchasing an additional 672,404 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,664,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,202,742,000 after acquiring an additional 726,485 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,209,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,415,345,000 after purchasing an additional 34,999 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,308,316,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,000,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,139,872,000 after purchasing an additional 90,842 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.