Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target to $315.00

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price target boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $309.00 to $315.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Bank Of America (Bofa) increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $287.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $287.91 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $288.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $266.37. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $218.63 and a 1-year high of $301.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.91 billion, a PE ratio of 58.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 10.41%. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total transaction of $4,244,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 329,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,121,853.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total transaction of $1,799,520.10. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 30,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,536,855.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total transaction of $4,244,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 329,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,121,853.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 44,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,622,660 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 180.6% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,228,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,076,000 after purchasing an additional 790,467 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,763,177,000 after buying an additional 727,325 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 219.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,660,000 after acquiring an additional 717,221 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,832,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,208,208,000 after acquiring an additional 398,350 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 510.1% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 189,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,339,000 after acquiring an additional 158,295 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.