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

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $296.57.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays upped their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the business’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 $4,211,438. The trade was a 16.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was 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 owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at $21,626,666.10. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AJG. W Advisors LLC increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% during the third quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Covenant Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 5,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Disciplined Investments LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the third quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 5,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,635,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the third quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 5,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $283.10 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $292.55 and a 200 day moving average of $283.12. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $218.63 and a 52 week high of $316.72. The company has a market cap of $70.72 billion, a PE ratio of 53.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 45.71%.

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.