Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) 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 changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $312.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. 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 company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $68.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.64, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $289.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $278.03.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 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, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.71%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total transaction of $1,992,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at $21,625,146.84. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total value of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 33,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $6,892,280. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth $26,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% in the 2nd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.