Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Now Covered by Analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $260.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $289.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Mizuho raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $281.39.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $209.30 on Tuesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $195.00 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The company has a market capitalization of $53.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.03, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $232.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $258.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.The business’s revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 45.53%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 32,650 shares of company stock worth $8,137,686 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AJG. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. 85.53% of the stock is 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.