Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Rating Increased to Outperform at Mizuho

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) was upgraded by equities researchers at Mizuho from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a $277.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 23.08% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on AJG. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research set a $289.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $292.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.76.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 3.2%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $225.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $195.00 and a twelve month high of $351.23. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $243.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $266.39.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total transaction of $1,290,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 95,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,715,254.85. The trade was a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total value of $1,032,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,472,271.97. This represents a 18.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 24,850 shares of company stock valued at $6,364,440 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $1,925,062,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,299,674,000 after acquiring an additional 3,330,205 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 123.5% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,887,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,523,636,000 after purchasing an additional 3,253,498 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9,244.9% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,053,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $272,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,361 shares during the period. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $269,394,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.