Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Price Target Lowered to $252.00 at Piper Sandler

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its price objective lowered by Piper Sandler from $253.00 to $252.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

AJG has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Truist Financial restated a hold rating and issued a $255.00 target price (down from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a buy rating to a hold rating and decreased their price target for the company from $279.00 to $233.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an underperform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $255.31.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $233.52 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $244.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.27, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $198.52 and a 52 week high of $256.10.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.08. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 10.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total transaction of $117,020.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at $10,540,693.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 12,309 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.65, for a total transaction of $2,925,233.85. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 322,797 shares in the company, valued at $76,712,707.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total value of $117,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 45,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,540,693.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,016 shares of company stock worth $7,176,180 over the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $213,000. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.9% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 4,222 shares during the last quarter. Busey Trust CO grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 101.8% in the third quarter. Busey Trust CO now owns 31,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,146,000 after purchasing an additional 15,811 shares in the last quarter. Toews Corp ADV acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth about $775,000. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $803,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.