Analysts Set Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target at $257.62

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $255.23.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AJG. Jefferies Financial Group cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $279.00 to $233.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $255.00 price objective (down previously from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $232.09 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $198.52 and a 12 month high of $256.10. The firm has a market cap of $50.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.27, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $244.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.68.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 9.63%. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.54 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.60 dividend. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 54.05%.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total transaction of $308,026.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $516,269.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total transaction of $117,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 45,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total value of $308,026.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $516,269.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,016 shares of company stock worth $7,176,180. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 175.6% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 460.9% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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.