Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Rating Increased to Buy at TD Cowen

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) was upgraded by investment analysts at TD Cowen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has a $377.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $295.00. TD Cowen’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 32.29% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $286.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.07.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $284.98 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $224.21 and a 1-year high of $316.72. The company has a market capitalization of $71.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.28, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $291.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $285.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.26. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,626,666.10. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.