Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $315.00 to $326.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "market perform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price target points to a potential downside of 0.86% from the stock's current price.

AJG has been the topic of several other research reports. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price target on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $319.36.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG stock traded up $1.36 on Thursday, reaching $328.81. 58,196 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,330,237. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $250.72 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $332.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $316.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.21 billion, a PE ratio of 50.47 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.45 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total transaction of $3,540,285.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 91,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. This represents a 10.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total transaction of $4,645,755.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. The trade was a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,510 shares of company stock worth $11,033,341. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,411,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,499,185,000 after acquiring an additional 739,130 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,372,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,997,767,000 after buying an additional 4,815,007 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,067,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,857,737,000 after acquiring an additional 305,876 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,327,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910,471 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,779,248,000 after acquiring an additional 787,265 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.