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

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $282.6471.

AJG has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $226.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.8%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $207.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $53.44 billion, a PE ratio of 33.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.67. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $195.00 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $234.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $260.23. 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. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $4,041,750.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 79,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,284,995. This trade represents a 16.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 95,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,715,254.85. The trade was a 4.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,650 shares of company stock worth $8,137,686. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth $9,877,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,299,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,330,205 shares during the period. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 107.1% during the second quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 14,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,642,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 735,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $234,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,806 shares during the period. Finally, Cincinnati Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,824,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.