Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 10.41%. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 3.5 %

NYSE AJG traded up $9.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $283.58. The stock had a trading volume of 1,161,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 713,993. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $214.13 and a 12 month high of $283.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $261.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $248.45. The company has a market capitalization of $61.96 billion, a PE ratio of 57.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. Argus increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $282.00 to $301.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $273.27.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,109,286.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total value of $3,974,560.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,109,286.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.24, for a total transaction of $205,792.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 44,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,496,312.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 53,165 shares of company stock valued at $13,629,049 in the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.