Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Upgraded at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) from an underweight rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $262.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $247.00.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Mizuho raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $311.00 to $298.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Evercore cut their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.65.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.8%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $207.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $53.44 billion, a PE ratio of 33.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $234.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $260.50. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $195.00 and a 1-year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.The business had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis 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 presently 45.53%.

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

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 95,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,715,254.85. This trade represents a 4.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 32,650 shares of company stock worth $8,137,686 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,925,062,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,299,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,330,205 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 123.5% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,887,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,523,636,000 after buying an additional 3,253,498 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9,244.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,053,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $272,670,000 after buying an additional 1,042,361 shares during the period. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $269,394,000. 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.