Barclays Increases Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target to $275.00

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price objective lifted by research analysts at Barclays from $262.00 to $275.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 25.56% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Mizuho raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $298.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $219.01 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $219.35 and its 200-day moving average is $249.48. The stock has a market cap of $56.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $195.00 and a twelve month high of $351.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,552,814.40. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AJG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $1,925,062,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,299,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,330,205 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 123.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,887,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,523,636,000 after purchasing an additional 3,253,498 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9,244.9% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,053,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $272,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $269,394,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.