Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target Raised to $282.00

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $274.00 to $282.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 11.99% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Argus increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $263.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded down $8.10 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $251.80. 244,074 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 854,144. The stock has a market cap of $55.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $249.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $242.29. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $209.39 and a 12-month high of $266.39.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 10.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.03 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,717 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total transaction of $2,240,269.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 44,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,485,587. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total transaction of $3,974,560.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,952 shares in the company, valued at $20,109,286.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,717 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $2,240,269.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 44,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,485,587. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 53,165 shares of company stock worth $13,629,049 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,308,316,000. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1,210.9% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,383,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $311,117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277,945 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,433,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $997,053,000 after buying an additional 884,394 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 180.6% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,228,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,076,000 after buying an additional 790,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,763,177,000 after buying an additional 727,325 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.