Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.70 on June 19th

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 29th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of 0.70 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, June 19th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a payout ratio of 20.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to earn $14.71 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.0%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 2.7%

NYSE AJG opened at $206.19 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $217.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $240.38. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $195.00 and a one year high of $351.23. The firm has a market cap of $53.01 billion, a PE ratio of 33.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.The business’s revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AJG. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $259.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.94.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.