Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target Raised to $254.00

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price target increased by Piper Sandler from $252.00 to $254.00 in a research report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on AJG. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $273.27.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $279.32 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $261.79 and a 200 day moving average of $249.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $214.13 and a 52 week high of $283.90. The company has a market capitalization of $61.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 48.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,395 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total value of $862,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 38,314 shares in the company, valued at $9,731,756. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total transaction of $3,974,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,109,286.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,395 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total transaction of $862,330.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 38,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,731,756. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 53,165 shares of company stock worth $13,629,049. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 361,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $81,281,000 after buying an additional 28,359 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,841,000. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 70.4% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 12,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,308 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 112,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,206,000 after purchasing an additional 15,528 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 194,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,649,000 after purchasing an additional 20,302 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.