Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock Dropped to “Neutral” by Citigroup

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) was downgraded by investment analysts at Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Monday, Briefing.com reports. They currently have a $300.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Citigroup‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 8.51% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also commented on the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, October 9th. Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $291.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $287.32.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $276.46 on Monday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $190.75 and a twelve month high of $277.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $70.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.27, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $248.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.55.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.39% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.32 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher Mead sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total transaction of $899,570.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 22,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,711,755.46. This represents a 13.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Walter Bay sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total transaction of $3,240,960.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 71,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,254,543.36. This represents a 14.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 28,500 shares of company stock worth $7,562,950 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 208.2% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 9,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,058,000 after purchasing an additional 6,095 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth approximately $3,587,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.1% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 149,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,389,000 after buying an additional 9,966 shares during the last quarter. Gtcr LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $514,112,000. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.0% in the second quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan now owns 193,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,433,000 after buying an additional 22,227 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company. The firm helps businesses, public entities and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance and related services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, wholesale brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, claims administration and risk management consulting. Gallagher places commercial and personal insurance coverage and provides services related to property and casualty risks, health care, benefits, and other specialized insurance needs.

Founded in 1927 by Arthur J.