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

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 3.5 %

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $9.56 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $283.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,161,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 850,743. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $61.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $214.13 and a 12 month high of $283.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $261.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.45.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total transaction of $2,634,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 93,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,693,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total transaction of $3,974,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,952 shares in the company, valued at $20,109,286.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total value of $2,634,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 93,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,693,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 53,165 shares of company stock valued at $13,629,049. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a research note on Friday. Argus boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $273.27.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.