Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $291.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Wolfe Research’s price target indicates a potential upside of 17.05% from the company’s current price.

AJG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $275.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $361.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $340.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $316.33.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $248.61 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $63.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.31 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $282.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $303.36. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $239.47 and a 1 year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The business’s revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,855 shares of company stock worth $8,916,928. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.9% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $744,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 4,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,504,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth $225,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at $225,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 25.3% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 22,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,916,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.