Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $298.14.
A number of research analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on AJG
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance
Shares of NYSE AJG traded up $5.21 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $284.98. The stock had a trading volume of 1,853,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,519,640. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $224.21 and a 1 year high of $316.72. The company has a market capitalization of $71.19 billion, a PE ratio of 54.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $291.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $285.39.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 45.71%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total transaction of $1,992,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,626,666.10. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,211,438. This trade represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 219.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $270,660,000 after buying an additional 717,221 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $249,237,000 after acquiring an additional 618,362 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,305,478 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,462,392,000 after acquiring an additional 580,134 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,196,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $899,538,000 after purchasing an additional 383,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 431.9% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 323,880 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $91,130,000 after buying an additional 262,987 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
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Get Free ReportArthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.
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