UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) had its target price hoisted by stock analysts at UBS Group from $299.00 to $320.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. UBS Group‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 14.60% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on AJG. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $285.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $289.89.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG stock traded up $3.15 on Monday, reaching $279.22. The company had a trading volume of 2,800,435 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,889,663. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $190.75 and a 1 year high of $281.53. The company has a market cap of $71.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.69, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s fifty day moving average is $248.41 and its 200 day moving average is $232.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.01. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.39% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Christopher Mead sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total transaction of $899,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 22,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,711,755.46. This represents a 13.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard Cary sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.86, for a total transaction of $252,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 46,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,838,652.34. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,500 shares of company stock worth $7,562,950. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AJG. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 208.2% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 9,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,058,000 after acquiring an additional 6,095 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth about $3,587,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.1% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 149,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,389,000 after purchasing an additional 9,966 shares during the period. Gtcr LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $514,112,000. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.0% during the second quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan now owns 193,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,433,000 after purchasing an additional 22,227 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company. The firm helps businesses, public entities and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance and related services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, wholesale brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, claims administration and risk management consulting. Gallagher places commercial and personal insurance coverage and provides services related to property and casualty risks, health care, benefits, and other specialized insurance needs.

Founded in 1927 by Arthur J.