Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock slipped 0.7% in pre-open trading after two major Wall Street downgrades within 24 hours.
BMO Capital downgraded AJG to Market Perform from Outperform on Monday, November 2, while raising its price target 16% to $295. BMO cited profit-taking after an upgrade made in March 2026 and noted that the stock's EV/EBITDA multiple has stretched above its historical average relative to peers Brown & Brown and Ryan Specialty.
Citi cut its rating to Neutral from Buy, lifting its price target to $300 from $285, saying the current share price already reflects expected future growth.
AJG trades near its 52-week high of $281.53. A Form 144 filing disclosed a proposed sale of nearly 28,000 shares by a company officer. Insiders have collectively sold approximately 28,500 shares over the past three months.
Jefferies raised its price target to $319 from $295, and Wells Fargo maintained an Overweight rating with a $312 target, providing some offset to the downgrades.
The broader market environment weakened support for the stock. The S&P 500 is essentially flat at negative 0.03%, and the Dow Jones is down 0.5%, as investors adopt a wait-and-see posture ahead of U.S. midterm election results. Rising oil prices and the prospect of an additional Federal Reserve rate hike in December also weigh on risk appetite in the financial services sector.
BMO simultaneously upgraded rival Marsh to Outperform, redirecting institutional attention away from AJG within the insurance broker peer group.