Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) PT Lowered to $211.00

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG – Get Rating) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $213.00 to $211.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price indicates a potential upside of 17.22% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $215.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $215.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.71.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 2.0 %

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $180.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $190.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.69. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $148.24 and a 1-year high of $202.37.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 13.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.62, for a total value of $189,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,508 shares in the company, valued at $8,818,846.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.62, for a total value of $189,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 46,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,818,846.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kay W. Mccurdy sold 182 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.59, for a total transaction of $35,779.38. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,091 shares in the company, valued at $6,112,179.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,933 shares of company stock valued at $4,747,098 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $1,431,788,000. Bishop Rock Capital L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth about $22,862,000. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $435,911,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 28.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,234,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $853,382,000 after buying an additional 1,162,186 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,232,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,668,312,000 after buying an additional 880,314 shares during the last quarter. 82.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.