Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Meets Expectations

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) released its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 10.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.00 EPS.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded down $7.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $280.40. 383,555 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 842,213. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $218.63 and a 52 week high of $301.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $61.27 billion, a PE ratio of 57.87, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s fifty day moving average is $289.20 and its 200-day moving average is $268.76.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total value of $1,799,520.10. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 30,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,536,855.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 329,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,121,853.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total transaction of $1,799,520.10. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 30,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,536,855.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 44,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,622,660 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AJG. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $287.00.

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.