Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $302.2222.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AJG. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Monday, December 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $276.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $328.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th.

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

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.00, for a total transaction of $1,566,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 50,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,224,348. This trade represents a 10.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $4,041,750.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 79,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,284,995. The trade was a 16.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 23,100 shares of company stock worth $5,921,175 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 11.0% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 14,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,073,000 after acquiring an additional 1,457 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 34.9% in the first quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 781,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,711,000 after acquiring an additional 201,900 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3,242.4% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 387.7% during the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 78,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,255,000 after purchasing an additional 62,758 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of AJG opened at $260.77 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $255.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $287.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.98 and a beta of 0.69. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $236.34 and a 12-month high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 13.58%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.86%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.