Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Given New $346.00 Price Target at Barclays

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price target upped by Barclays from $308.00 to $346.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on AJG. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $315.27.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG opened at $334.60 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $329.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $304.34. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $230.08 and a 52-week high of $350.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.57 billion, a PE ratio of 51.32 and a beta of 0.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 39.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total transaction of $104,669.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at $14,422,812.98. This trade represents a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total value of $3,229,900.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 69,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,536,304.26. The trade was a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.