Truist Financial Has Lowered Expectations for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock Price

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at Truist Financial from $271.00 to $235.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 12.64% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on AJG. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $226.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $292.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $279.39.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $208.62. The stock had a trading volume of 624,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,464,170. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.92, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $195.00 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $232.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $258.68.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the general counsel directly owned 79,549 shares of the company’s stock, 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, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $24,715,254.85. The trade was a 4.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 32,650 shares of company stock valued at $8,137,686 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,390,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,123,534,000 after purchasing an additional 217,136 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,299,674,000 after buying an additional 3,330,205 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,613,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,264,359,000 after buying an additional 830,252 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,953,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,834,682,000 after buying an additional 62,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,925,062,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.