Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target Cut to $341.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price target decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $344.00 to $341.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on AJG. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.1 %

AJG stock opened at $302.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $75.49 billion, a PE ratio of 57.56 and a beta of 0.76. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $227.43 and a 12 month high of $316.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $291.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.68.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. Equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.88%.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 8,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,183,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.3% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 12.9% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 61,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,943,000 after purchasing an additional 7,035 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth $26,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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