Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with 16 firms covering the stock; the average 12-month price target is approximately $331.43.
• In its latest earnings report, the company posted $2.33 EPS, which was below the expected $2.36 EPS, while revenue grew by 16.0% year-over-year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, representing a 0.9% dividend yield.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $331.4286.

AJG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $365.00 to $366.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $344.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $340.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock 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 current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $77.37 billion, a PE ratio of 42.86 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $299.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $315.78.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 7.35% 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 bought and sold shares of the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is 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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