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

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $263.00.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America upped their price target on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday. Argus upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $274.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total value of $2,634,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 93,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,693,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total value of $2,634,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 93,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,693,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.84, for a total value of $219,164.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 45,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,630,646.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 53,165 shares of company stock valued at $13,629,049. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AJG. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 473.9% in the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 3,019 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.7% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 77,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,576,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.6% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 37,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,633,000 after purchasing an additional 946 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 111.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter valued at $281,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $259.31 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $251.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $242.55. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $210.86 and a 52-week high of $266.39. The firm has a market cap of $56.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.49, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.08. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 10.27%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.03 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

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.