Barclays Initiates Coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 1.52% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on AJG. Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of 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. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.82.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $295.51 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $64.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.82, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $218.63 and a 12 month high of $298.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $279.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $258.89.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total value of $2,181,530.22. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 36,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,560,583.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.07, for a total value of $2,482,959.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,654,772.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total value of $2,181,530.22. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 36,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,560,583.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,348 shares of company stock valued at $13,342,910. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,308,316,000. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1,210.9% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,383,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $311,117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277,945 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,433,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $997,053,000 after purchasing an additional 884,394 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 180.6% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,228,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,076,000 after buying an additional 790,467 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,763,177,000 after buying an additional 727,325 shares in the last quarter. 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.