Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Given New $340.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its target price upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $320.00 to $340.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on AJG. Bank of America upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $302.20 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $227.43 and a fifty-two week high of $316.72. The company has a market capitalization of $75.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.56 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $291.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

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

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

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 126.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,003,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $568,619,000 after buying an additional 1,117,441 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,305,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,462,392,000 after purchasing an additional 580,134 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6,581.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 437,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,174,000 after purchasing an additional 430,917 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,196,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $899,538,000 after purchasing an additional 383,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 431.9% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 323,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,130,000 after purchasing an additional 262,987 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.