Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target Raised to $372.00

Key Points

• Piper Sandler has raised its price target for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00, indicating a potential upside of 29.40% from the current stock price.
• The stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Hold" with multiple analysts offering varying price targets, reflecting a divided outlook among investors.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported a missed EPS estimate of $2.33 for the last quarter, which was lower than the consensus estimate of $2.36, despite a 16.0% year-over-year revenue increase.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) had its price target lifted by Piper Sandler from $352.00 to $372.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

AJG has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $329.75.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.1%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded down $3.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $284.06. The stock had a trading volume of 2,787,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,457,424. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.75 billion, a PE ratio of 40.35 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $318.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $322.86. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $274.25 and a twelve month high of $351.23.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 36.93%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total value of $3,540,285.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 91,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. This trade represents a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total value of $4,645,755.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 11,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. This trade represents a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $8,528,080 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AJG. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $382,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,879,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Grand Managers LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,096,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.