Citigroup Initiates Coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Citigroup started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set a “neutral” rating and a $317.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 8.04% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on AJG. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $331.07.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $293.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $75.23 billion, a PE ratio of 41.68 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $308.74 and its 200-day moving average is $322.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $274.25 and a 52 week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total value of $3,540,285.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 91,175 shares in the company, valued at $30,741,474.75. This represents a 10.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total transaction of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,941 shares in the company, valued at $4,109,256.33. This represents a 53.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $382,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,879,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Grand Managers LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $7,096,000. 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.