William Blair Comments on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s FY2024 Earnings (NYSE:AJG)

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) – William Blair reduced their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, September 24th. William Blair analyst A. Klauber now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings of $10.07 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $10.16. The consensus estimate for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s current full-year earnings is $10.14 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s Q4 2024 earnings at $2.09 EPS.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 10.41%. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $301.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $282.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG stock opened at $279.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $286.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $263.77. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $218.63 and a fifty-two week high of $301.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.06 billion, a PE ratio of 56.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total value of $4,244,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,121,853.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total value of $4,244,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 329,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,121,853.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total transaction of $1,992,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,625,146.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 44,145 shares of company stock worth $12,622,660 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AJG. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,214,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 9,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,227,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $515,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 3,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $856,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 96,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,740,000 after buying an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.