Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Raised to Outperform at BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from "market perform" to outperform and set a $278 price target, implying about a 28.17% upside from the current price.
• Consensus among analysts is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $278.17; ten analysts rate AJG a Buy and ten rate it a Hold.
• AJG slightly beat Q4 EPS estimates ($2.38 vs. $2.35) and reported revenue up 33.9% year-over-year, while the stock trades around $216.89, below analyst targets.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a $278.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock, up from their previous price target of $275.00. BMO Capital Markets' price target indicates a potential upside of 28.17% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on AJG. Citigroup upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $298.00 to $273.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $292.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $278.17.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:AJG opened at $216.89 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company's fifty day moving average price is $228.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $256.16. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $195.00 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.27, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The firm's revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

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

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 19,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.