Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its target price boosted by Barclays from $300.00 to $308.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on AJG. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.71.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded up $0.40 during trading on Thursday, reaching $302.84. The stock had a trading volume of 116,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 842,109. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.44 billion, a PE ratio of 57.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $218.63 and a 52 week high of $308.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $288.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $276.31.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.26. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 45.71%.

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

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,211,438. This trade represents a 16.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. This trade represents a 17.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 180.6% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,228,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,076,000 after purchasing an additional 790,467 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 219.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,660,000 after buying an additional 717,221 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,237,000 after buying an additional 618,362 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,305,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,462,392,000 after acquiring an additional 580,134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,196,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $899,538,000 after acquiring an additional 383,130 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.