Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) CAO Richard Cary Sells 1,000 Shares

Key Points

• Insider sale: Chief Accounting Officer Richard Cary sold 1,000 AJG shares for approximately $252,860, reducing his ownership by 2.09% to 46,819 shares.
• Market and financial performance: AJG traded down 0.9% to $241.64, while quarterly EPS of $2.84 exceeded estimates. Revenue rose 24.3% year over year to $3.95 billion.
• Dividend and analyst outlook: Gallagher declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, representing a 1.2% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $289.83.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) CAO Richard Cary sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.86, for a total value of $252,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 46,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,838,652.34. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.9%

AJG traded down $2.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $241.64. 936,016 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,933,176. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $254.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $229.56. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $190.75 and a 1-year high of $313.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 9.96%.The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.33 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,925,062,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 123.5% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,887,538 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,523,636,000 after buying an additional 3,253,498 shares during the last quarter. Gtcr LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth $514,112,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at $289,484,000. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,613,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,264,359,000 after buying an additional 830,252 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wolfe Research lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $235.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $289.83.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company. The company helps businesses, institutions and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance and related services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, risk management, claims administration, actuarial services, captive insurance and wholesale brokerage. Gallagher arranges commercial property and casualty coverage, personal insurance, specialty insurance and employee benefit programs, while also providing services designed to help clients manage workplace, liability and other operational risks.

Founded in 1927 by Arthur J.

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