Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Down 4.4% Following Analyst Downgrade

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 4.4% during trading on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $372.00 to $371.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. traded as low as $312.95 and last traded at $314.38. 119,995 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 1,332,317 shares. The stock had previously closed at $328.76.

AJG has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $319.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total value of $4,645,755.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,941 shares in the company, valued at $4,109,256.33. This represents a 53.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 45,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,510 shares of company stock worth $11,033,341 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $331.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $317.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.11 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. The company's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.45 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.