Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has received an average rating of "Hold" from 16 brokerages, with rankings including one sell, nine hold, five buy, and one strong buy.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $2.33 per share, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36, despite a year-over-year revenue growth of 16.0%.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, representing a 0.9% dividend yield, with the payout date set for September 19th.

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $331.0667.

A number of analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:AJG opened at $305.2660 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $306.77 and a 200 day moving average of $322.38. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $274.25 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The firm has a market cap of $78.27 billion, a PE ratio of 43.36 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during 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%.Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $33,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $34,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% in the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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