Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $264.00.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AJG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group set a $240.00 target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $204.89 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $211.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.49. The stock has a market cap of $52.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.54. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $190.75 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 45.31%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at $4,384,778.72. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Montchanin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth about $433,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,854,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $401,645,000 after purchasing an additional 346,409 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,970,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $426,887,000 after purchasing an additional 101,431 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth about $166,000. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 939,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $203,549,000 after purchasing an additional 9,250 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.