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

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

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, November 21st.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.8 %

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $322.42 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $292.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $290.38. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $230.08 and a 1-year high of $323.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.45 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.4 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. 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 39.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares of the company’s stock, 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 own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AJG. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 80,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,900,000 after buying an additional 15,340 shares in the last quarter. PFG Advisors increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 18,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,337,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 56,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,138,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 212.3% during the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 4,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,154,000 after purchasing an additional 2,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 73.6% during the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $567,000 after buying an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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.