Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target Increased to $309.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $301.00 to $309.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 10.86% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on AJG. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded down $3.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $278.73. The company had a trading volume of 463,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 817,509. The company’s 50-day moving average is $285.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $262.49. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $218.63 and a twelve month high of $301.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $60.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 10.41%. The business’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate 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 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total value of $1,799,520.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 30,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,536,855.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total value of $1,799,520.10. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 30,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,536,855.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,710 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.07, for a total transaction of $2,482,959.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,654,772.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 37,145 shares of company stock worth $10,629,900 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 24.9% during 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 raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 180.6% during the 1st 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. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,763,177,000 after acquiring an additional 727,325 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 219.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,660,000 after acquiring an additional 717,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chilton Investment Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 476.2% during the fourth quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. now owns 484,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $108,965,000 after purchasing an additional 400,453 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.