Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target Lowered to $240.00 at Morgan Stanley

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price objective lowered by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $265.00 to $240.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 18.53% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on AJG. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Citigroup upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $280.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $266.53.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of AJG opened at $202.48 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $211.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $190.75 and a twelve month high of $351.23. The stock has a market cap of $52.02 billion, a PE ratio of 32.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.54.

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

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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 transaction of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at $4,384,778.72. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $19,552,814.40. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.40% 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. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $29,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. 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.