Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $234.48 and last traded at $235.2860, with a volume of 220358 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $241.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on AJG shares. Mizuho set a $277.00 price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $249.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial set a $271.00 price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $284.12.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $252.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $273.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.66.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.00, for a total transaction of $1,566,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 50,668 shares in the company, valued at $13,224,348. This represents a 10.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total value of $1,032,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 17,327 shares in the company, valued at $4,472,271.97. This trade represents a 18.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 32,100 shares of company stock worth $8,243,865 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% during the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 39 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 is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.