Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target Lowered to $290.00 at Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada lowered Arthur J. Gallagher’s price target from $310 to $290 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, implying 27.38% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 14 buy ratings and five holds; the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” and the average price target is $288.44.
• Gallagher’s latest quarterly results slightly exceeded EPS expectations, reporting $2.84 per share versus the $2.81 consensus, while revenue increased 24.3% year over year to $3.95 billion.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from $310.00 to $290.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target would indicate a potential upside of 27.38% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $292.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $261.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $235.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.44.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.9%

AJG stock opened at $227.66 on Thursday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $190.75 and a twelve month high of $313.55. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $252.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.85. The company has a market cap of $58.35 billion, a PE ratio of 37.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.13, for a total value of $3,169,560.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 90,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,840,902.06. This trade represents a 11.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total value of $3,240,960.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 71,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,254,543.36. This represents a 14.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 28,500 shares of company stock worth $7,562,950 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AJG. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.2% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares during the period. Rench Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the second quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. now owns 52,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,022,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.1% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 149,799 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,389,000 after buying an additional 9,966 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 303.7% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 638,601 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $146,604,000 after buying an additional 480,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 97.9% during the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 558 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company. The company helps businesses, institutions and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance and related services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, risk management, claims administration, actuarial services, captive insurance and wholesale brokerage. Gallagher arranges commercial property and casualty coverage, personal insurance, specialty insurance and employee benefit programs, while also providing services designed to help clients manage workplace, liability and other operational risks.

Founded in 1927 by Arthur J.

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