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

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $304.07.

AJG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of AJG stock opened at $285.67 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $291.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $286.12. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $227.08 and a 1 year high of $316.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.41, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.76.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,305,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,462,392,000 after buying an additional 580,134 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,932,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,513,199,000 after acquiring an additional 47,656 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,490,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,541,044,000 after acquiring an additional 79,429 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,196,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $899,538,000 after purchasing an additional 383,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,640,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $425,511,000 after purchasing an additional 42,841 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.