Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.55 Per Share

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG – Get Rating) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 25th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.55 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, March 17th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has raised its dividend payment by an average of 5.9% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 12 consecutive years. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a dividend payout ratio of 20.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to earn $8.61 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 23.7%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of AJG stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $197.15. The stock had a trading volume of 571,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 621,549. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $192.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.19. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $147.32 and a 52-week high of $201.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.57 billion, a PE ratio of 38.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.05. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The company had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AJG shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $208.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Friday, October 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $215.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 22nd. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, December 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.21.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.35, for a total transaction of $1,963,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,302,951.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.35, for a total transaction of $1,963,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,302,951.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.95, for a total transaction of $2,375,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 42,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,359,626.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 37,555 shares of company stock worth $7,355,347 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 62.0% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.5% in the first quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $259,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter worth $266,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.3% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 82.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services to both domestic and international entities. It operates through the following business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.