Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target Raised to $312.00

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its target price upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $284.00 to $312.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on AJG. Citigroup downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Barclays upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $267.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.05.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 5.6%

AJG stock opened at $288.75 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $74.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.55, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $190.75 and a 12 month high of $289.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $249.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.91.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 10.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 7th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 42.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Richard Cary sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.86, for a total value of $252,860.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,838,652.34. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas Howell sold 30,996 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.15, for a total transaction of $8,528,549.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 92,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,578,219.15. The trade was a 25.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 67,086 shares of company stock worth $18,214,574. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gtcr LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at $514,112,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at $289,484,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 303.7% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 638,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,604,000 after purchasing an additional 480,413 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,242,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $702,182,000 after purchasing an additional 409,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,854,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $401,645,000 after purchasing an additional 346,409 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target to $319 from $295 and maintained a Buy rating, citing potential upside. Wells Fargo also issued a Buy rating. Wells Fargo rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Gallagher named Tom Doyle CEO of its Benefits & HR Consulting division as part of a leadership transition. The change may support continuity, though no financial impact was specified. Leadership transition announcement
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets cut AJG to Market Perform from Outperform, with a $295 target, saying it was “taking profits.” Citigroup also downgraded the stock to Neutral, saying the risk-reward balance had shifted. BMO downgrade Citigroup downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Douglas Howell sold 30,996 shares and VP Christopher Mead sold 7,590 shares. Both sales reduced their respective holdings by about 25%; insider sales can weigh on sentiment, although they do not necessarily signal a change in the company’s outlook. CFO sale filing VP sale filing

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company. The firm helps businesses, public entities and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance and related services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, wholesale brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, claims administration and risk management consulting. Gallagher places commercial and personal insurance coverage and provides services related to property and casualty risks, health care, benefits, and other specialized insurance needs.

Founded in 1927 by Arthur J.