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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $287.00.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AJG. Bank Of America (Bofa) increased 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 objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price 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. Trading Down 1.6 %

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $282.97 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $289.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $268.89. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $218.63 and a 52-week high of $301.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.28, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 10.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 48.58%.

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

In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total value of $1,799,520.10. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 30,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,536,855.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.07, for a total value of $2,482,959.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,654,772.41. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction 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 sale, the general counsel now directly owns 30,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,536,855.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% in the second quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.