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

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $271.8235.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AJG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.5%

AJG stock opened at $205.99 on Wednesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $195.00 and a twelve month high of $351.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $52.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.33, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $217.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.89.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 45.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. The trade was a 4.24% 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 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,877,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 65,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,398,000 after acquiring an additional 6,090 shares in the last quarter. Cincinnati Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,824,000. Finally, Factory Mutual Insurance Co. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 241.4% during the 3rd quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 49,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,332,000 after acquiring an additional 35,000 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 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.