Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target to $273.00

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its target price reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $298.00 to $273.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential upside of 29.54% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $292.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $278.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE AJG traded up $1.27 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $210.75. The company had a trading volume of 82,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,438,468. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.31, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.67. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $195.00 and a 52 week high of $351.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $258.34.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 19,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,384,778.72. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total value of $1,290,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 95,777 shares in the company, valued at $24,715,254.85. This trade represents a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 32,650 shares of company stock worth $8,137,686. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,925,062,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,299,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,330,205 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 123.5% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,887,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,523,636,000 after buying an additional 3,253,498 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9,244.9% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,053,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $272,670,000 after buying an additional 1,042,361 shares during the period. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth $269,394,000. 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.