Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Short Interest Down 16.7% in March

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,240,000 shares, a decline of 16.7% from the February 28th total of 3,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,810,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total transaction of $760,825.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,031,487.89. The trade was a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 37.5% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 68,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,730 shares during the last quarter. IronOak Wealth LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $548,000. TFR Capital LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $770,000. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. TD Cowen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed 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 target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $313.20.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of AJG stock traded up $1.65 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $345.72. 528,689 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,219,854. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $324.69 and a 200 day moving average of $301.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $230.08 and a 1 year high of $355.64. The firm has a market cap of $88.41 billion, a PE ratio of 53.02 and a beta of 0.75.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. Analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.65 dividend. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.