Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $292.00 and last traded at $292.5350, with a volume of 1,233 shares. The stock had previously closed at $288.38.

Key Headlines Impacting Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Here are the key news stories impacting Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target to $319 from $295 and maintained a Buy rating, signaling expected upside. Jefferies analyst report
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets lowered its rating on AJG, while Dowling & Partners cut its 2026 EPS estimate to $13.15 from $13.75. These actions may weigh on sentiment by signaling less optimism about the stock or earnings outlook. BMO rating report
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple executives sold shares: CFO Douglas Howell sold 30,996, VP William Ziebell sold 23,510, and VP Christopher Mead sold 7,590. The transactions reduced their respective holdings by about 25%–32%; insider sales can concern investors, though they do not necessarily indicate a change in the company’s outlook. Howell SEC filing Ziebell SEC filing Mead SEC filing

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Argus lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $267.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $319.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Evercore increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $295.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.05.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 2.4%

The firm has a market cap of $72.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $250.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.01. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.39% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.11 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.81%.

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

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.13, for a total value of $3,169,560.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 90,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,840,902.06. This trade represents a 11.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP William F. Ziebell sold 23,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.62, for a total transaction of $6,738,436.20. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 48,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,027,756.04. This represents a 32.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 90,596 shares of company stock valued at $24,953,010. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.6% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 364,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $90,996,000 after purchasing an additional 172,165 shares during the period. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 495.4% in the third quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 186,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,491,000 after buying an additional 154,990 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4,834.0% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 176,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,326,000 after buying an additional 173,202 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 25.3% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 303,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,848,000 after purchasing an additional 61,288 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management services firm. It helps businesses and other organizations assess and manage risk, arrange insurance coverage, and address employee benefits needs.

The company’s services include insurance brokerage, risk management consulting, employee benefits consulting, and claims and settlement services through its Gallagher Bassett business. It serves clients in the United States and internationally, including through a network of correspondent brokers.

Founded in 1927 by Arthur J.