Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

AJG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $289.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research set a $289.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Evercore reduced their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $282.76.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $214.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $55.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s fifty day moving average is $245.55 and its 200-day moving average is $267.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $195.00 and a 12 month high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The business had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 42.28%.

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

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total value of $1,290,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 95,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,715,254.85. This trade represents a 4.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $4,041,750.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 79,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,284,995. This trade represents a 16.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,850 shares of company stock worth $6,364,440. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Catalyst Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $362,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 123.5% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,887,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,523,636,000 after purchasing an additional 3,253,498 shares during the period. WealthPoint Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $297,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $448,527,000 after buying an additional 85,545 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.