Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $290.50.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AJG shares. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $247.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Mizuho set a $277.00 price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total value of $1,290,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 95,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,715,254.85. This trade represents a 4.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael Robert Pesch bought 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $247.12 per share, with a total value of $988,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president directly owned 41,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,341,724.88. This represents a 10.57% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 32,100 shares of company stock valued at $8,243,865 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% in the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Steph & Co. bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $253.13 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $65.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.84 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $253.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $278.43. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $236.34 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate 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 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 was Friday, December 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.86%.

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.