Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price objective increased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $315.00 to $326.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on AJG. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $319.36.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $328.90 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $332.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $316.95. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $251.42 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The firm has a market cap of $84.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.44 and a beta of 0.74.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total transaction of $342,040.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 45,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at $30,029,771.80. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,510 shares of company stock valued at $11,033,341 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the fourth 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 during the period. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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.