Q1 2024 Earnings Estimate for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Issued By William Blair (NYSE:AJG)

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) – Stock analysts at William Blair lowered their Q1 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report issued on Monday, April 15th. William Blair analyst A. Klauber now expects that the financial services provider will earn $3.41 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $3.44. The consensus estimate for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s current full-year earnings is $10.06 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s Q2 2024 earnings at $2.23 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $2.31 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $11.24 EPS.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 9.63%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS.

AJG has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen increased 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. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $255.00 target price (down from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $279.00 to $233.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $255.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG traded down $0.91 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $230.52. 736,286 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 871,964. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $198.52 and a 1-year high of $256.10.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.7% in the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $2,946,000. Legato Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 13,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,035,000 after acquiring an additional 4,102 shares during the period. Finally, Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.4% during the third quarter. Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc now owns 3,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $892,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total transaction of $117,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total transaction of $308,026.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $516,269.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total transaction of $117,020.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,016 shares of company stock worth $7,176,180 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 54.05%.

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.