Royal Bank of Canada Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG – Get Rating)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $225.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 25.00% from the stock’s previous close.

AJG has been the subject of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $213.00 to $211.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $215.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Raymond James raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.71.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE:AJG opened at $180.00 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $190.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.62, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $148.24 and a 1 year high of $202.37.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 13.08%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 18,700 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.66, for a total transaction of $3,565,342.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 42,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,051,762.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 18,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.66, for a total value of $3,565,342.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 42,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,051,762.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kay W. Mccurdy sold 182 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.59, for a total value of $35,779.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 31,091 shares in the company, valued at $6,112,179.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,933 shares of company stock worth $4,747,098. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AJG. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 49.0% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,744 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at about $838,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 11,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,953,000 after buying an additional 2,235 shares during the period. 82.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance 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.