Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target Raised to $344.00

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $315.00 to $344.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Barclays lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.57.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $281.26 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $218.63 and a fifty-two week high of $316.72. The business has a fifty day moving average of $293.52 and a 200-day moving average of $281.59. The stock has a market cap of $61.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.74.

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, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors 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 0.85%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.71%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total transaction of $1,992,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,625,146.84. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,211,438. This represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 16,800 shares of company stock worth $4,789,260. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 109,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,450,000 after purchasing an additional 14,860 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 183,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,732,000 after buying an additional 2,092 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter worth $749,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at $22,538,000. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 29.9% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 161,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,756,000 after acquiring an additional 37,070 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.