Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $292.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $247.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $249.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $284.12.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG opened at $216.54 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $55.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.66. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $195.00 and a 12-month high of $351.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $246.39 and a 200-day moving average of $268.33.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total transaction of $1,032,440.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,472,271.97. This trade represents a 18.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total value of $1,290,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 95,777 shares in the company, valued at $24,715,254.85. The trade was a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 24,850 shares of company stock valued at $6,364,440 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,390,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,123,534,000 after acquiring an additional 217,136 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% during 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 last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,613,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,264,359,000 after buying an additional 830,252 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,953,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,834,682,000 after buying an additional 62,518 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,925,062,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.