Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Given New $315.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its target price lifted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $307.00 to $315.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

AJG has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $315.33.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 4.3 %

AJG stock opened at $331.42 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $235.09 and a 12 month high of $350.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company has a market cap of $84.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.83 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $330.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $308.30.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total value of $104,669.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. This represents a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 67,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,893,000 after purchasing an additional 11,752 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $249,237,000 after acquiring an additional 618,362 shares during the last quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 48,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,830,000 after acquiring an additional 3,983 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 22,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. now owns 141,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,069,000 after purchasing an additional 17,196 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.