Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target Raised to $254.00

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price objective increased by Piper Sandler from $252.00 to $254.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $282.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Argus raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a report on Friday. Three research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $273.27.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $279.32 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $214.13 and a 52-week high of $283.90. The company has a market capitalization of $61.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $261.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $249.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total transaction of $2,181,530.22. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 36,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,560,583.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total transaction of $2,181,530.22. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 36,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,560,583.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total transaction of $3,974,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,109,286.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,165 shares of company stock valued at $13,629,049. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AJG. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 1,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $136,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. PFG Advisors lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 18,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,219,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 24,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,548,000 after buying an additional 5,324 shares during the period. Finally, Argus Investors Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $671,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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.