Brokerages Set Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) PT at $302.22

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $302.2222.

A number of analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup cut their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $330.00 to $277.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $328.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $272.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 18th.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE AJG opened at $262.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.28 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $254.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $286.41. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $236.34 and a 12 month high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.19). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 11.98%. The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.86%.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $4,041,750.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 79,549 shares in the company, valued at $20,284,995. This represents a 16.61% 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 Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,472,271.97. The trade was a 18.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,100 shares of company stock valued at $8,243,865. Insiders own 1.30% 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 company. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 11.0% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 14,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,073,000 after buying an additional 1,457 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 34.9% in the first quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 781,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,711,000 after buying an additional 201,900 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3,242.4% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 1,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 387.7% during the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 78,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,255,000 after acquiring an additional 62,758 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 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.