Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Upgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to Market Perform Rating

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) was upgraded by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report released on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage currently has a $286.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 0.36% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on AJG. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.07.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $284.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $71.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.76. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $224.21 and a twelve month high of $316.72. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $291.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $285.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,211,438. The trade was a 16.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total transaction of $1,992,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,626,666.10. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AJG. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.7% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 109,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,450,000 after purchasing an additional 14,860 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,237,000 after buying an additional 618,362 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 183,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,732,000 after acquiring an additional 2,092 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter valued at about $749,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth about $22,538,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.