Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

( ) saw a significant drop in short interest for the month of march. On March 31, there were 1,720,000 short shares, which is a 13.1% decrease from the total of 1,980,000 on March 15. The short-interest ratio, based on an average trading volume (907,800) of shares, is currently 1.9 days.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. trading up 1.8 %

Trading hours were held on Thursday and the stock reached $207.88. The company's shares were traded at a volume of 1,147,206, which is higher than its average of 899,833. The company's fifty-day moving is $190.09, and its 200-day moving is $189.56. The last time ) released its results was on Thursday 26th January. The financial services provider posted $1.54 per share in earnings for the third quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.04 Revenue for the quarter was $2 billion, which is higher than analyst expectations of $1.96billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported a return of equity of 18.64%, and a margin net of 13.08%. Revenues for the quarter were up 2.8% year-over-year. In the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.98 in earnings per share. Analysts on the sell-side predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. is expected to post 8.72 EPS in its current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. increases dividend

A quarterly dividend was also announced by the company and paid out on Friday, 17th March. Investors who had their records on the Friday, March 3, were paid a $0.55 quarterly dividend. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had previously paid a $0.51 quarterly dividend. Dividend yield is 1.06%. This amounts to a $2.20 dividend annualized. The ex-dividend day was Thursday, 2nd March. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a dividend payout ratio of 42.31%.

Wall Street analysts forecast growth

AJG stock has recently been the subject of a number of research reports by equities analysts. Raymond James raised their price target for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report published on Thursday, December 29, from $205.00 up to $215.00. They also gave the stock a strong-buy rating. Piper Sandler raised their price target for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report published on Friday, January 27, from $195.00 up to $215.00. The stock was given a neutral' ranking. Truist Financial raised their price target for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to $230.00 in a Monday, January 30, report. They also gave the stock a buy' rating. BMO Capital Markets began covering Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. on Thursday, 19th January. The stock was given an 'outperform rating' and a target price of $211.00. Citigroup raised their Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. target price from $228.00 up to $232.00 on Tuesday in a report. Four analysts gave the stock a hold, eight gave a buy and one analyst has given the stock a strong-buy rating. According to MarketBeat.com Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus of 'Moderate buy' with an average price target of $214.00.

Insider Buying & Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

18700 shares were sold in a single transaction on Monday 6th March. The stock was bought at a price of $190.66 on average, for a transaction totaling $3,565,342.00. After the completion of this transaction, the vice-president now owns directly 42,231 of the company's shares, valued at $8,051,762.46. VP Scott R. Hudson, who is also a director, sold 18,700 of the company's shares in a deal that took place on Monday, 6th March. The stock was bought at an average of $190.66 for a transaction totaling $3,565,342.00. After the completion of this transaction, the vice-president now owns directly 42,231 of the company's shares, valued at $8,051,762.46. In a transaction on Friday, 17th March, 2,850 shares were sold. Stock was sold for $515,793.00 at an average price $180.98. The chief financial officer owns directly 90,715 of the company's shares, worth $16,417.600.70. Insiders have sold 27,783 shares worth $5,262,891 of the company's stock in the past ninety-days. Insiders hold 1.40% the stock of the company.

Inflows of Institutional Capital and Outflows

Recently, several large investors changed their positions within the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. position valued at approximately $429,000 in the first quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter by 0.5%. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. owns now 112,752 of the financial service provider's shares valued at $21,571,000, after purchasing 527 additional shares during the period. Marino Stram & Associates LLC increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter by 7.1%. Marino Stram & Associates LLC owns now 2,800 shares valued at $536,000 of the financial services providers stock after purchasing an extra 185 shares over the period. WBH Advisory Inc. acquired a new Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. position valued at approximately $1,349,000 in the first quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter by 8.0%. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. owns now 1,884 shares valued at $361,000. This is after buying 140 additional shares. The stock is held by hedge funds, other institutional investors and others in 82.07%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company profile

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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co provides insurance brokerage and consulting services, as well as third-party claim settlement and administration. It is organized into three business segments: Corporate, Risk Management and Brokerage. The Brokerage segment includes retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.

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