Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $331.4286.

AJG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Barclays cut their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at $30,186,742.58. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. The trade was a 13.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,855 shares of company stock worth $8,916,928. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% during the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $301.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $275.56 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $299.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $315.78. The firm has a market cap of $77.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.86 and a beta of 0.73.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.93%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.