Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Cut to Peer Perform at Wolfe Research

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wolfe Research from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

AJG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $226.00 to $211.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $242.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $275.00 to $278.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $261.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.18.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $256.73 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $214.46 and a 200-day moving average of $225.67. The firm has a market cap of $65.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $190.75 and a twelve month high of $316.89.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The firm’s revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $618,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,850,714. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Professional Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 11.7% during the second quarter. Professional Advisory Services Inc. now owns 108,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,897,000 after buying an additional 11,371 shares during the last quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.5% during the second quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 17,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,969,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.8% during the second quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC now owns 43,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,065,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.5% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 73,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,787,000 after buying an additional 3,138 shares during 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 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.