Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from sixteen brokerages, with eight analysts rating it as a hold and seven as a buy.
• The company's recent earnings report revealed a missed EPS estimate of $2.33, as it fell slightly short of the expected $2.36.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share was recently paid, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.9% and a payout ratio of 36.93%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $331.4286.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AJG. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $340.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.2%

AJG opened at $301.75 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $275.56 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $77.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.86 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $299.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $315.78.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,186,742.58. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AJG. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $25,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% in the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $33,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.