Piper Sandler Increases Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target to $293.00

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price objective raised by Piper Sandler from $254.00 to $293.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $282.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of AJG stock opened at $281.93 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $218.63 and a twelve month high of $301.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business’s 50 day moving average is $285.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $263.17. The company has a market capitalization of $61.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.16 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 33,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,853,685.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total value of $4,244,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 329,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,121,853.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 44,145 shares of company stock worth $12,622,660. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,763,177,000 after buying an additional 727,325 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,832,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,208,208,000 after acquiring an additional 398,350 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,624,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $656,217,000 after acquiring an additional 14,366 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,640,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $425,511,000 after purchasing an additional 42,841 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,611,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $402,206,000 after purchasing an additional 38,886 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.