Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $272.00 to $279.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target points to a potential upside of 7.72% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on AJG. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Wolfe Research set a $289.00 price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $330.00 to $277.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $329.00 to $285.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.11.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE AJG opened at $259.01 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $252.51 and its 200-day moving average is $283.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.72 and a beta of 0.67. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $236.34 and a one year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 11.98%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Michael Robert Pesch bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $247.12 per share, for a total transaction of $988,480.00. Following the purchase, the vice president directly owned 41,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,341,724.88. This trade represents a 10.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $4,041,750.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 79,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,284,995. This trade represents a 16.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 32,100 shares of company stock worth $8,243,865 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,096,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,954,625,000 after acquiring an additional 685,278 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,299,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,330,205 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.9% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,783,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,649,477,000 after purchasing an additional 101,298 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,891,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,373,403,000 after buying an additional 147,587 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,194,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,228,156,000 after buying an additional 45,256 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.