Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $289.14.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AJG. Barclays began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $292.33 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $288.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $275.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $64.14 billion, a PE ratio of 55.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $218.63 and a 12 month high of $301.04.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.71%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total value of $2,103,020.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. This represents a 17.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,211,438. This trade represents a 16.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $6,892,280. Corporate 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 modified their holdings of the business. Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter worth about $995,000. Virtue Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter worth about $840,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% during the third quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,232,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter worth about $1,688,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.9% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,816,000 after buying an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.