Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $263.00.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $282.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $274.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $253.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.24, for a total transaction of $205,792.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 44,691 shares in the company, valued at $11,496,312.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.24, for a total transaction of $205,792.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 44,691 shares in the company, valued at $11,496,312.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total transaction of $3,974,560.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,952 shares in the company, valued at $20,109,286.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 53,165 shares of company stock worth $13,629,049. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 361,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $81,281,000 after purchasing an additional 28,359 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 70.4% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 12,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,213,000 after buying an additional 5,308 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 112,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,206,000 after buying an additional 15,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $979,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $259.31 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $210.86 and a 1 year high of $266.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $251.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $242.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.08. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.58%.

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.