Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $310.43.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total value of $760,825.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,031,487.89. This represents a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $338.10 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.86 and a beta of 0.75. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $230.08 and a 1-year high of $345.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $318.01 and its 200 day moving average is $299.81.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. Research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 39.88%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.