Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Rating Increased to Buy at TD Cowen

TD Cowen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $377.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $295.00.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.07.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $286.09 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $71.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.49, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $227.08 and a 12 month high of $316.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $291.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $285.54.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,211,438. The trade was a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total value of $1,992,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is 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.