Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Receives $333.13 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $333.1333.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on 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. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $344.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total transaction of $899,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 114,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,407,849.06. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AJG. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% in the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $296.64 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $76.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.14 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $274.25 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $299.03 and its 200 day moving average is $318.58.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.93%.

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.