Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target Raised to $325.00

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price objective increased by BMO Capital Markets from $312.00 to $325.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.14.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG stock traded up $1.05 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $295.76. The company had a trading volume of 75,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 842,045. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $288.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $274.11. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $218.63 and a one year high of $301.04.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This trade represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. The trade was a 17.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $6,892,280. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% in the second quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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 entities and individuals 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.