Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target Raised to $288.00

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price target increased by TD Cowen from $273.00 to $288.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on AJG. Argus increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $282.00 to $301.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $275.38.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $284.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $62.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $269.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $253.12. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $215.37 and a 1-year high of $290.31.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 10.41%. The company had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.15 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 currently 48.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.24, for a total value of $205,792.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 44,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,496,312.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.24, for a total value of $205,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 44,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,496,312.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total transaction of $2,634,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 93,730 shares in the company, valued at $24,693,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,998 shares of company stock worth $13,767,866 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AJG. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 361,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $81,281,000 after purchasing an additional 28,359 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at about $3,841,000. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 70.4% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 12,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,213,000 after acquiring an additional 5,308 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 11.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 194,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,649,000 after purchasing an additional 20,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 112,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,206,000 after purchasing an additional 15,528 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.