Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy”: 16 of 21 analysts rate Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. a buy, while five recommend holding. The average 12-month price target is $280.74 versus a share price of $259.31.
• Gallagher’s latest quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, with EPS of $2.84 versus the $2.81 consensus, while revenue rose 24.3% year over year to $3.95 billion. Analysts project full-year EPS of $13.16.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, representing a 1.1% yield, while insiders sold 28,500 shares worth approximately $7.6 million over the past 90 days.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $280.74.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $295.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Seaport Research Partners raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG opened at $259.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $66.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.00, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.55. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $190.75 and a 1-year high of $284.33. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $246.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.01 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total transaction of $3,240,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 71,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,254,543.36. This trade represents a 14.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 3,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total transaction of $899,570.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 22,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,711,755.46. The trade was a 13.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 28,500 shares of company stock valued at $7,562,950 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AJG. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,242,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $702,182,000 after purchasing an additional 409,145 shares during the last quarter. Gtcr LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $514,112,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,970,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $426,887,000 after purchasing an additional 101,431 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,854,488 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $401,645,000 after purchasing an additional 346,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,453,774 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $333,743,000 after purchasing an additional 3,905 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company. The firm helps businesses, public entities and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance and related services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, wholesale brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, claims administration and risk management consulting. Gallagher places commercial and personal insurance coverage and provides services related to property and casualty risks, health care, benefits, and other specialized insurance needs.

Founded in 1927 by Arthur J.

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