Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $300.00 to $308.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. traded as high as $301.43 and last traded at $300.85, with a volume of 239841 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $295.88.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on AJG. Bank of America increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.71.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,211,438. The trade was a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was 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. Insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $6,892,280 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% during the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. 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 acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 2.5 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $288.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $276.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $66.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.77, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.71%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.