William Blair Research Analysts Reduce Earnings Estimates for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) - Analysts at William Blair reduced their Q3 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report released on Tuesday, September 24th. William Blair analyst A. Klauber now forecasts that the financial services provider will earn $2.24 per share for the quarter, down from their prior 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 equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $301.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $282.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded down $2.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $277.93. The company had a trading volume of 1,210,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 834,303. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $286.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $263.48. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $218.63 and a 1 year high of $301.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $60.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% in the 2nd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.07, for a total transaction of $2,482,959.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,654,772.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total value of $1,992,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,625,146.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,710 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.07, for a total value of $2,482,959.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,654,772.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 44,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,622,660. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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