Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Cantor Fitzgerald

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price target reduced by Cantor Fitzgerald from $300.00 to $280.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on AJG. UBS Group upped 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 report on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.50.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $232.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.55, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $247.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.16. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $190.75 and a 12 month high of $305.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total transaction of $3,240,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 71,292 shares in the company, valued at $19,254,543.36. This trade represents a 14.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.86, for a total value of $252,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 46,819 shares in the company, valued at $11,838,652.34. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 28,500 shares of company stock valued at $7,562,950 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.