Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Upgraded at TD Cowen

TD Cowen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $377.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $295.00.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $292.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Friday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.07.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:AJG opened at $286.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $71.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.76. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $227.08 and a twelve month high of $316.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $291.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $285.94.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This trade represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total transaction of $1,992,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at $21,626,666.10. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.