Wall Street Zen Upgrades Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) to “Hold”

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on AJG. UBS Group dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Mizuho set a $277.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $247.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $249.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $292.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $284.12.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG stock opened at $216.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $246.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $268.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $55.67 billion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.66. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $195.00 and a one year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS 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 15,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $4,041,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 79,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,284,995. This represents a 16.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total transaction of $1,032,440.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 17,327 shares in the company, valued at $4,472,271.97. The trade was a 18.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 24,850 shares of company stock worth $6,364,440 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.5% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,226,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.