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

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $287.6471.

Several research firms recently commented on AJG. Wolfe Research cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $291.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,850,714. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dearborn Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 133,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,661,000 after buying an additional 7,946 shares during the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,571,000. Gtcr LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at approximately $514,112,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 154,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,965,000 after acquiring an additional 44,824 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $1,371,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $251.72 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $190.75 and a twelve month high of $313.55. The firm has a market cap of $64.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.74, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $235.35 and a 200 day moving average of $224.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 9.96%.The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.33 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.43%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.