Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target Raised to $295.00

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price objective raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $286.00 to $295.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.1 %

AJG opened at $302.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $75.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.56 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $291.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $288.82. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $227.43 and a 12 month 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. As a group, research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 45.71%.

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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $959,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. W Advisors LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% during the third quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $940,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covenant Partners LLC increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 5,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently 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 business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.