Insider Selling: Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) General Counsel Sells $3,240,960.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: General Counsel Walter Bay sold 12,000 AJG shares for approximately $3.24 million, reducing his direct ownership by 14.41% to 71,292 shares.
• Business performance: Arthur J. Gallagher reported quarterly EPS of $2.84, exceeding estimates of $2.81, while revenue rose 24.3% year over year to $3.95 billion.
• Investor outlook: Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $290.28, and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, yielding about 1.1% annually.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) General Counsel Walter Bay sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG traded down $2.35 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $266.16. 1,426,169 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,369,775. 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 firm's fifty day simple moving average is $247.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $190.75 and a 12-month high of $313.55.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 9.96%.The company's revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is currently 46.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AJG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $299.00 to $296.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Mizuho increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $290.28.

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

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AJG. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23,248.0% in 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. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,925,062,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 123.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,253,498 shares during the last quarter. Gtcr LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth approximately $514,112,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth $289,484,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source