Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $316.3333.

Several research firms have recently commented on AJG. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $275.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $353.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $291.00 target price for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Michael Robert Pesch purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $247.12 per share, with a total value of $988,480.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 37,105 shares of company stock worth $10,796,353 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 11,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,427,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $949,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter valued at about $296,000. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter worth about $2,113,000. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $10,953,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG opened at $245.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $239.47 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.09 billion, a PE ratio of 36.72 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $271.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $296.80.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 13.58%.The business’s revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.