Brokerages Set Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Target Price at $318.57

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $318.57.

A number of research firms have commented on AJG. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:AJG opened at $340.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $87.13 billion, a PE ratio of 52.18 and a beta of 0.78. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $244.60 and a 52-week high of $350.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $331.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $312.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,502,278.92. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total value of $4,645,755.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. The trade was a 53.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,010 shares of company stock valued at $7,493,056. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AJG. Running Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 48,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,830,000 after acquiring an additional 3,983 shares during the last quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. now owns 141,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,069,000 after acquiring an additional 17,196 shares during the period. Red Spruce Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $298,000. Hartford Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 15,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,381,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537 shares during the period. Finally, Iams Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 65.0% during the fourth quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,260,000 after purchasing an additional 3,138 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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.