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

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research 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 price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $283.36.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $301.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $286.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.69 billion, a PE ratio of 58.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $218.63 and a fifty-two week high of $301.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $287.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $265.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 10.41%. The business’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at $9,853,685.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total value of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total transaction of $1,799,520.10. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 30,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,536,855.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,622,660. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,433,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $997,053,000 after buying an additional 884,394 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 180.6% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,228,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,076,000 after purchasing an additional 790,467 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,763,177,000 after acquiring an additional 727,325 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 219.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,660,000 after purchasing an additional 717,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chilton Investment Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 476.2% in the fourth quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. now owns 484,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $108,965,000 after buying an additional 400,453 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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.