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

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $318.57.

AJG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of 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. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of AJG stock opened at $332.96 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $85.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.07 and a beta of 0.78. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $244.60 and a one year high of $350.70. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $330.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $310.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The company’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,421,591,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,372,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,997,767,000 after buying an additional 4,815,007 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,422,435,000 after buying an additional 3,851,661 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $719,489,000. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,327,403,000 after buying an additional 1,910,471 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.