Royal Bank of Canada Boosts Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target to $290.00

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price objective increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $282.00 to $290.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on AJG. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $274.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Truist Financial reissued a hold rating and issued a $255.00 price target (down from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an underperform rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $263.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $253.55 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.40 billion, a PE ratio of 51.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $249.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $242.29. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $209.39 and a 12 month high of $266.39.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.03 EPS. Analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.84, for a total transaction of $219,164.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,108 shares in the company, valued at $11,630,646.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.24, for a total value of $205,792.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 44,691 shares in the company, valued at $11,496,312.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.84, for a total transaction of $219,164.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 45,108 shares in the company, valued at $11,630,646.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 53,165 shares of company stock worth $13,629,049 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,308,316,000. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1,210.9% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,383,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $311,117,000 after buying an additional 1,277,945 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,433,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $997,053,000 after buying an additional 884,394 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 180.6% during the first 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 period. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,763,177,000 after purchasing an additional 727,325 shares during the period. 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.