Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target Raised to $314.00

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its target price increased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $308.00 to $314.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on AJG. TD Cowen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of 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 dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $332.02 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $230.08 and a fifty-two week high of $345.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $316.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $299.51. The company has a market cap of $84.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.92 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. On average, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total value of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,029,771.80. This trade represents a 7.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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