Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $282.93.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AJG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $281.37 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $61.48 billion, a PE ratio of 56.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $286.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $264.08. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $218.63 and a fifty-two week high of $301.04.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total transaction of $1,799,520.10. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 30,053 shares in the company, valued at $8,536,855.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at $9,853,685.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total value of $1,799,520.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 30,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,536,855.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 44,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,622,660 in the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $992,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,409,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.7% during the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. ERn Financial LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.9% in the first quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 2,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% in the second quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,642,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.