Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock Rating Lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has $313.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on AJG. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $315.00 on Monday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $218.63 and a one year high of $315.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $289.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $278.29. The firm has a market cap of $69.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given 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 0.76%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.71%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the president now owns 33,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,853,685.40. The trade was a 17.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now 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 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. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.