Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Purchased by Banco Santander S.A.

Banco Santander S.A. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 14.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,067,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,857,737,000 after buying an additional 305,876 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,327,403,000 after buying an additional 1,910,471 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,957,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $839,524,000 after buying an additional 260,533 shares in the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $719,489,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,355,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $668,552,000 after buying an additional 480,193 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $329.15.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $284.54 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of $72.87 billion, a PE ratio of 40.42 and a beta of 0.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $274.25 and a 52 week high of $351.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $316.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $322.97.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total transaction of $3,540,285.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 91,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. This represents a 10.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $8,528,080. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.