Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Hold" from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $315.27.

AJG has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total value of $104,669.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. The trade was a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total transaction of $3,229,900.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,536,304.26. This trade represents a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE AJG traded down $0.85 on Friday, reaching $330.94. The company had a trading volume of 255,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,262,375. The company's fifty day moving average is $330.53 and its 200-day moving average is $306.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $232.27 and a 1-year high of $350.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.71 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. On average, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 39.88%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.