Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Receives $323.73 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $323.6429.

AJG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $365.00 to $366.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $340.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $330.00 to $277.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael Robert Pesch bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $247.12 per share, with a total value of $988,480.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 41,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,341,724.88. The trade was a 10.57% increase 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, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% during the first quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% in the first quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.3% in the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the second quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,761,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $254.85 on Wednesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $239.47 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $287.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $306.01. The company has a market cap of $65.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.20 and a beta of 0.71.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.86%.

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.