Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock Price

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price target trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $372.00 to $371.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $319.29.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE AJG opened at $312.96 on Monday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $251.42 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $331.21 and a 200-day moving average of $317.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company has a market cap of $80.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.00 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 45,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,510 shares of company stock valued at $11,033,341 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,421,591,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings 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 last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $719,489,000. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its holdings 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 last quarter. 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.