Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target Raised to $370.00

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price objective lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $341.00 to $370.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on AJG. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays increased 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 note on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $310.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.7 %

AJG stock opened at $332.02 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $316.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $299.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $230.08 and a twelve month high of $345.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $84.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.92 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.65 dividend. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total value of $3,229,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,536,304.26. This represents a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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 segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.