Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $314.44 and last traded at $313.09, with a volume of 26028 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $312.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AJG. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $290.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $278.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.15 billion, a PE ratio of 60.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 45.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,211,438. The trade was a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,853,685.40. This represents a 17.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AJG. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.7% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 109,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,450,000 after acquiring an additional 14,860 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $749,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 29.9% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 161,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,756,000 after buying an additional 37,070 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,297,000. Finally, Marsico Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 316.9% during the second quarter. Marsico Capital Management LLC now owns 11,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,968,000 after acquiring an additional 8,701 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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.