Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Decreases Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lowered its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 36 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $55,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 109,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,450,000 after purchasing an additional 14,860 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,237,000 after buying an additional 618,362 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 183,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,732,000 after buying an additional 2,092 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter worth approximately $749,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $22,538,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $280.40 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $291.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $285.21. The company has a market capitalization of $70.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.76. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $223.43 and a 12-month high of $316.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total value of $1,992,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at $21,626,666.10. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.