Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Upgraded by Piper Sandler to "Overweight" Rating

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research report report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Piper Sandler currently has $315.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock, up from their prior price target of $285.00.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on AJG. Bank of America boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $298.14.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG traded up $5.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, 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 50 day simple moving average of $291.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $285.40. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $224.21 and a 52 week high of $316.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 45.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This trade represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total transaction of $1,992,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,626,666.10. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. W Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% during the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,289,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Covenant Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 5,326 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Disciplined Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 5,849 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,635,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 5,481 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur 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.