Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target Raised to $300.00

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s price target from $260 to $300 and kept an outperform rating, implying about 16.8% upside from the prior close.
• Several other analysts also turned more positive on AJG, with recent target hikes from firms like Mizuho and Barclays. Overall, the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $276.53.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, including EPS of $4.47 versus estimates of $4.43 and 29% revenue growth year over year. Shares were trading near $256.83, below the new $300 target but above key moving averages.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from $260.00 to $300.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm 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 16.81% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on AJG. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Monday, June 15th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $261.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $278.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $242.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $276.53.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $3.74 during trading on Monday, hitting $256.83. 100,323 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,134,948. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $216.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $225.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.53, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $190.75 and a 52-week high of $316.71.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The business had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,850,714. This trade represents a 5.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.3% during the second quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 43,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,035,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Tema ETFs LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 4,880 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Wealth Science Advisors LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,338.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Science Advisors LLC now owns 1,829 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 1,754 shares during the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at approximately $472,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company's core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.

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