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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,790,000 shares, a decline of 15.2% from the April 15th total of 2,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 811,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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 value of $308,026.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $516,269.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 15,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.06, for a total value of $3,825,900.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 96,709 shares in the company, valued at $24,666,597.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total value of $308,026.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at $516,269.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,207 shares of company stock valued at $8,108,486. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JT Stratford LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at $209,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.0% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,832,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,208,208,000 after purchasing an additional 398,350 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Sarl increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 65.8% during the first quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 76,324 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,084,000 after purchasing an additional 30,297 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 80.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA now owns 54,815 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,706,000 after purchasing an additional 24,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Inc. CA boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 46.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 62,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,660,000 after purchasing an additional 19,918 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of AJG stock traded up $1.28 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $250.78. 718,445 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 855,638. The business's fifty day moving average is $244.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.03 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AJG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $253.00 to $252.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and set a $255.00 target price (down from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $255.77.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.