Piper Sandler Upgrades Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) to “Overweight”

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) was upgraded by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $315.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $285.00. Piper Sandler’s price objective points to a potential upside of 12.59% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. 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 research note on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.14.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $279.77 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $291.49 and its 200 day moving average is $285.40. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $224.21 and a one year high of $316.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $69.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.76.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,626,666.10. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,211,438. This represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 948.0% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 6,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,730,000 after buying an additional 6,039 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 25.1% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 42.2% during the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 3,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 4,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,063,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $622,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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.