Susan E. Pietrucha Sells 13,500 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total transaction of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. The trade was a 53.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $337.75 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.80 and a beta of 0.78. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $244.60 and a 12-month high of $350.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $331.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $312.88.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

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

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, MRP Capital Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $318.57.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.