Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Upgraded at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $286.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock, down from their prior price target of $292.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price would indicate a potential downside of 0.03% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on AJG. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Piper Sandler upgraded 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. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $304.07.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE AJG traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $286.09. 3,074,545 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,612,124. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $291.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $285.39. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $227.08 and a 52 week high of $316.72. The stock has a market cap of $71.47 billion, a PE ratio of 54.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.76. 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. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at $21,626,666.10. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,211,438. This represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% during the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at $29,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.