Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target to $266.00

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price objective cut by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $273.00 to $266.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 21.15% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Mizuho upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $226.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine 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 an average price target of $274.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG traded down $1.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $219.57. The stock had a trading volume of 118,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,373,159. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.68, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $219.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.69. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $195.00 and a 1-year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $19,552,814.40. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 19,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth $2,825,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.7% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 38,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,325,000 after acquiring an additional 2,751 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 26,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,500,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth $3,429,000. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the second quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 124,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,980,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares in the last quarter. 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 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.