Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Forecasted to Earn Q3 2024 Earnings of $2.24 Per Share (NYSE:AJG)

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) – Analysts at William Blair decreased their Q3 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note issued on Tuesday, September 24th. William Blair analyst A. Klauber now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $2.24 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.31. The consensus estimate for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s current full-year earnings is $10.14 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s FY2025 earnings at $11.25 EPS.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on AJG. Barclays initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $282.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.0 %

AJG stock opened at $277.93 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.73 billion, a PE ratio of 56.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $218.63 and a 52 week high of $301.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $286.13 and a 200 day moving average of $263.48.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 10.41%. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Trading of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,433,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $997,053,000 after purchasing an additional 884,394 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 180.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,228,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,076,000 after acquiring an additional 790,467 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,763,177,000 after acquiring an additional 727,325 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 219.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,660,000 after purchasing an additional 717,221 shares during the period. Finally, Chilton Investment Co. Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 476.2% during the fourth quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. now owns 484,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $108,965,000 after purchasing an additional 400,453 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total transaction of $4,244,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 329,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,121,853.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 30,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,536,855.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total transaction of $4,244,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at $93,121,853.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 44,145 shares of company stock worth $12,622,660 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 48.58%.

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.