Citigroup Boosts Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target to $264.00

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its target price increased by stock analysts at Citigroup from $250.00 to $264.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, FlyOnTheWall reports. Citigroup’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 13.15% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Argus upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $232.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $238.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Friday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. StockNews.com began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.31.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.4 %

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $233.32 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $167.93 and a 1-year high of $233.49. The company has a market cap of $50.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.69.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.65% and a net margin of 12.11%. The business had revenue of $2.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.14, for a total transaction of $746,262.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,445,930.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 4,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.92, for a total value of $1,050,284.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 127,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,288,482.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.14, for a total transaction of $746,262.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,445,930.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 37,888 shares of company stock valued at $8,576,247 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,940,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,963,026,000 after acquiring an additional 262,187 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,431,788,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,910,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,078,118,000 after buying an additional 185,399 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,765,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,044,141,000 after acquiring an additional 155,683 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at approximately $418,715,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% 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 businesses and organizations 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.