Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock Rating Upgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $286.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their previous target price of $292.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target indicates a potential downside of 0.03% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on AJG. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.07.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $286.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.49, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s 50 day moving average is $291.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $227.08 and a 1-year high of $316.72. 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. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total value of $1,992,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,626,666.10. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were 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 owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This trade represents a 16.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AJG. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 948.0% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 6,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,730,000 after acquiring an additional 6,039 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 42.2% in the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 3,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. Andra AP fonden lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.2% during the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 12,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,138,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth $208,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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.