Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Upgraded to “Outperform” at Mizuho

Mizuho upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $260.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $292.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $311.00 to $298.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $247.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $281.76.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE AJG traded up $2.64 during trading on Friday, reaching $227.86. 2,959,658 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,939,034. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $195.00 and a 12-month high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $58.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $243.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $265.97.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.28%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total value of $1,032,440.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,472,271.97. This represents a 18.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $4,041,750.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 79,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,284,995. This trade represents a 16.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 24,850 shares of company stock worth $6,364,440 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.1% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 192.7% in the 2nd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 3,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,175,000 after purchasing an additional 2,417 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 39.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 40,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,986,000 after purchasing an additional 11,553 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 18.1% during the second quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% in the second quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 25,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,132,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.