Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded up $9.56 on Friday, reaching $283.53. 1,161,093 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 850,743. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $260.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $248.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $214.13 and a 52 week high of $283.90.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total value of $2,181,530.22. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 36,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,560,583.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total transaction of $3,974,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,109,286.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total value of $2,181,530.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 36,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,560,583.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 53,165 shares of company stock valued at $13,629,049. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $282.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $273.27.

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.