Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target Lowered to $365.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has lowered its price target for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $369.00 to $365.00, suggesting a potential upside of 23.04% from the current stock price.
• Several analysts have rated the stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $332.60, indicating a mixed outlook from the market.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported earnings of $2.33 per share for its last quarter, missing analyst expectations, while revenue grew 16.0% year-over-year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $369.00 to $365.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target would suggest a potential upside of 21.71% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $344.00 target price for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $330.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $3.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $299.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,605,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,373,650. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.89 billion, a PE ratio of 42.60 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $274.25 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $298.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $318.01.

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 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 analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total transaction of $899,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 114,777 shares in the company, valued at $34,407,849.06. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AJG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,372,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,997,767,000 after purchasing an additional 4,815,007 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth $1,536,230,000. Sands Capital Management LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 453.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 1,121,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $358,934,000 after acquiring an additional 918,618 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 41,475.5% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 770,394 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $246,619,000 after buying an additional 768,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,411,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,499,185,000 after buying an additional 739,130 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

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.