Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target Raised to $290.00

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $270.00 to $290.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $265.00 in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $290.28.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $263.24 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $244.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.03. The company has a market cap of $67.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.66, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $190.75 and a one year high of $313.55.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 9.96%.The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.43%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total value of $899,570.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 22,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,711,755.46. The trade was a 13.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,850,714. This trade represents a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Dearborn Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 133,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,661,000 after acquiring an additional 7,946 shares in the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $3,571,000. Gtcr LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at $514,112,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 154,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,965,000 after purchasing an additional 44,824 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $1,371,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.