Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock Moved Down to "Neutral" by Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to “Neutral” from “Buy” and set a $300 price target, implying 8.51% potential upside.
• Despite the downgrade, analyst sentiment remains favorable: the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target price of $287.32.
• Gallagher slightly exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $3.00 versus $2.99 expected, while revenue rose 19.6% year over year to $3.92 billion but fell short of estimates.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Citigroup from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report issued on Monday, Briefing.com reports. They presently have a $300.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock. Citigroup's price target would indicate a potential upside of 8.51% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $291.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $287.32.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.1%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $276.46 on Monday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $248.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $190.75 and a 12 month high of $277.45. The stock has a market cap of $70.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.47.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 10.39%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s quarterly revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Richard Cary sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.86, for a total value of $252,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,838,652.34. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott Hudson sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.13, for a total transaction of $3,169,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 90,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,840,902.06. The trade was a 11.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 28,500 shares of company stock valued at $7,562,950 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 21,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,809,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,741 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,766,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 46,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,486,000 after purchasing an additional 4,012 shares in the last quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 17,971.4% during the third quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258 shares during the period. Finally, TrinityBridge Ltd increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.0% during the third quarter. TrinityBridge Ltd now owns 1,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 45 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. The firm helps businesses, public entities and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance and related services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, wholesale brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, claims administration and risk management consulting. Gallagher places commercial and personal insurance coverage and provides services related to property and casualty risks, health care, benefits, and other specialized insurance needs.

Founded in 1927 by Arthur J.

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