William Blair Weighs in on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s Q1 2024 Earnings (NYSE:AJG)

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) – Equities research analysts at William Blair dropped their Q1 2024 earnings estimates for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report issued on Monday, April 15th. William Blair analyst A. Klauber now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $3.41 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.54 earnings per share.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on AJG. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $255.00 price target (down from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $279.00 to $233.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $255.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $233.99 on Wednesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $198.52 and a 1-year high of $256.10. The stock has a market cap of $51.08 billion, a PE ratio of 52.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $244.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $238.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AJG. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 175.6% in the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 460.9% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total transaction of $117,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total transaction of $117,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,016 shares of company stock worth $7,176,180 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. 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.