Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Receives $307.00 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $307.00.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AJG. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE AJG opened at $316.14 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $291.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.51. The firm has a market cap of $78.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.49 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $230.08 and a one year high of $316.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 39.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total value of $760,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,031,487.89. The trade was a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,661,000. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.2% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,558,000 after acquiring an additional 2,996 shares during the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at $309,000. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.