Calamos Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Calamos Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 95,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,246 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $21,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.9% during the third quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.7% during the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Trust Co. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total value of $308,026.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $516,269.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total value of $117,020.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,540,693.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total transaction of $308,026.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,023 shares in the company, valued at $516,269.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,016 shares of company stock valued at $7,176,180 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of AJG stock traded up $1.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $235.21. 124,373 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 863,305. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $244.43 and its 200-day moving average is $238.61. The company has a market cap of $51.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $198.52 and a fifty-two week high of $256.10.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 9.63%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

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.