Analysts Set Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) PT at $298.14

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $304.07.

AJG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $292.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,211,438. This represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total transaction of $1,992,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,626,666.10. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $286.09 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $291.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $285.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.49, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.76. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $227.08 and a 52-week high of $316.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

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.