Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock Has Average Price Target of $288.17 According to Analysts

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $288.17.

AJG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $296.00 to $291.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $290.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CAO Richard Cary sold 1,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.86, for a total value of $252,860.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,838,652.34. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher Mead sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total value of $899,570.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 22,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,711,755.46. The trade was a 13.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,500 shares of company stock valued at $7,562,950. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.2% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares in the last quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the second quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. now owns 52,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,022,000 after buying an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 149,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,389,000 after buying an additional 9,966 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 303.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 638,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,604,000 after acquiring an additional 480,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 97.9% in the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $228.95 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $251.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.05. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $190.75 and a 52 week high of $313.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.97, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 9.96%.The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.43%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. The company helps businesses, public entities and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, risk management and related advisory services.

Gallagher operates through several businesses, including retail insurance brokerage, wholesale brokerage and reinsurance brokerage. Its Gallagher Re business provides reinsurance broking and advisory services, while Gallagher Bassett provides third-party claims administration and related risk management services.