Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Now Covered by Analysts at Oppenheimer

Key Points

• Oppenheimer initiated coverage of Arthur J. Gallagher with a “market perform” rating. Overall analyst sentiment remains positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $285.67.
• AJG shares opened at $230.08, while the company’s latest quarterly results showed EPS of $2.84, slightly exceeding estimates, and revenue growth of 24.3% year over year.
• Insiders sold 28,500 shares worth approximately $7.6 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Stock analysts at Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set a "market perform" rating on the financial services provider's stock.

AJG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $292.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $230.08 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day moving average is $248.78 and its 200 day moving average is $230.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $58.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.16, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.55. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $190.75 and a 52-week high of $313.09.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 9.96%.The business's revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter Bay sold 12,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total transaction of $3,240,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 71,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,254,543.36. The trade was a 14.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Richard Cary sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.86, for a total value of $252,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,819 shares in the company, valued at $11,838,652.34. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,500 shares of company stock worth $7,562,950. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 123.5% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,887,538 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,523,636,000 after purchasing an additional 3,253,498 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,242,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $702,182,000 after purchasing an additional 409,145 shares during the period. Gtcr LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at about $514,112,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $426,887,000 after buying an additional 101,431 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $401,645,000 after buying an additional 346,409 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. The company helps businesses, public entities and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, risk management and related advisory services.

Gallagher operates through several businesses, including retail insurance brokerage, wholesale brokerage and reinsurance brokerage. Its Gallagher Re business provides reinsurance broking and advisory services, while Gallagher Bassett provides third-party claims administration and related risk management services.

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