Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target Raised to $315.00

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $309.00 to $315.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on AJG. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $287.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $2.51 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $288.21. 67,223 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 843,737. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $218.63 and a 12-month high of $301.04. The stock has a market cap of $63.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $288.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $265.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 10.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total value of $1,799,520.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 30,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,536,855.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total value of $1,799,520.10. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 30,053 shares in the company, valued at $8,536,855.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total value of $4,244,400.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,121,853.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,622,660. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 180.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,228,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,076,000 after buying an additional 790,467 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,763,177,000 after acquiring an additional 727,325 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 219.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,660,000 after purchasing an additional 717,221 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.0% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,832,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,208,208,000 after purchasing an additional 398,350 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 510.1% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 189,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,339,000 after purchasing an additional 158,295 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.