Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Receives $310.43 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $313.20.

AJG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $341.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $87.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.42 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $320.82 and its 200 day moving average is $300.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $230.08 and a one year high of $345.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. As a group, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 39.88%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total value of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total transaction of $104,669.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 44,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. This trade represents a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224 over the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AJG. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 68,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,730 shares during the period. IronOak Wealth LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $548,000. TFR Capital LLC. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $770,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 473.6% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,638,000 after acquiring an additional 4,764 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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 segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.