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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,340,000 shares, an increase of 157.5% from the November 30th total of 2,850,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,460,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AJG. Bank of America increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective 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. Barclays increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.57.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:AJG opened at $286.54 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $292.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $284.29. The company has a market cap of $71.58 billion, a PE ratio of 54.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.74. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $222.88 and a twelve month high of $316.72. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 45.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,211,438. The trade was a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total value of $1,992,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,626,666.10. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% during the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% in the second quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.