Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Lowers Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target to $275.00

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $315.00 to $275.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target points to a potential upside of 10.08% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $317.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $353.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.40.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $249.83 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $242.75 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $294.70 and a 200-day moving average of $310.06. 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 firm has a market cap of $64.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.49 and a beta of 0.73.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.19). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.4% during the second quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 9,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,758 shares during the period. Petra Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth about $812,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 43,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,174,000 after purchasing an additional 2,362 shares during the period. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.8% in the second quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 32,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 87.7% during the second quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 20,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,479,000 after buying an additional 9,739 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.