Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $307.00.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG opened at $333.19 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $301.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $294.66. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $230.08 and a 52-week high of $334.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.86 billion, a PE ratio of 51.10 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 39.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total value of $104,669.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at $14,422,812.98. This represents a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total transaction of $760,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,031,487.89. The trade was a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,725 shares of company stock valued at $4,972,964 in the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 47.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,842,000 after buying an additional 2,110 shares during the period. abrdn plc raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 71,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,076,000 after acquiring an additional 12,488 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 47.6% during the third quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 20.0% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 7,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares during the period. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.9% in the third quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. 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 business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.