Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target Lowered to $322.00 at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group has lowered its target price for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG) from $345.00 to $322.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating, which implies a potential upside of 13.66% from the current stock price.
• Other brokerages have also recently adjusted their ratings and price targets, with Jefferies reducing theirs to $265.00 and Piper Sandler increasing it to $372.00, while the average target price now stands at $329.15.
• Arthur J. Gallagher reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.33 for the last quarter, slightly missing the consensus estimate, even though their quarterly revenue increased by 16.0% year over year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at UBS Group from $345.00 to $322.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the financial services provider's stock. UBS Group's price target suggests a potential upside of 12.40% from the stock's previous close.

AJG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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 research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $329.15.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.2%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $286.47 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.69 and a beta of 0.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $274.25 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $315.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $322.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 11,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. This represents a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 91,175 shares in the company, valued at $30,741,474.75. This represents a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,173,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 395,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $112,160,000 after buying an additional 29,820 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 87.0% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 179,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,011,000 after purchasing an additional 83,591 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 44.6% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,928 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,761,000 after buying an additional 9,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 280,901 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $79,734,000 after purchasing an additional 28,333 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

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.