Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Given New $295.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its target price raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $286.00 to $295.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

AJG has been the subject of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of 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. TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $302.20 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $227.43 and a 1 year high of $316.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $291.66 and a 200 day moving average of $288.68. The stock has a market cap of $75.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.56 and a beta of 0.76.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 39.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by 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 business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.