Analysts Set Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Target Price at $315.27

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $315.27.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $319.52 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $232.27 and a 1-year high of $350.70. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $330.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $306.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.01 and a beta of 0.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total value of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allred Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $960,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 34.3% in the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $959,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $940,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.