Truist Financial Raises Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target to $265.00

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price target lifted by Truist Financial from $255.00 to $265.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on AJG. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $253.00 to $252.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Argus upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $273.27.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 3.5 %

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $283.58 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $261.33 and its 200 day moving average is $248.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.96 billion, a PE ratio of 57.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $214.13 and a one year high of $283.90.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.56%. The company had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.84, for a total value of $219,164.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 45,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,630,646.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total value of $2,634,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 93,730 shares in the company, valued at $24,693,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.84, for a total transaction of $219,164.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,630,646.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 53,165 shares of company stock worth $13,629,049 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 1,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. PFG Advisors increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 18,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,219,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 24,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,548,000 after acquiring an additional 5,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argus Investors Counsel Inc. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $671,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.