Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Key Points

• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported earnings of $2.33 per share for the quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations of $2.36 by $0.03, despite a 16% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $2.60 with a dividend yield of 0.9%.
• Insider trading saw significant activity, with insiders selling a total of 25,000 shares valued at over $8.5 million in the past three months.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 14.04% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.29 EPS.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.1%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded down $3.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $284.06. 2,787,751 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,318,036. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $274.25 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The firm's 50 day moving average is $318.00 and its 200-day moving average is $322.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.35 and a beta of 0.68.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total value of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,941 shares in the company, valued at $4,109,256.33. This represents a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays decreased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $329.75.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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

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