Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lowered its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 261 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $19,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AJG. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% during the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Motco raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 700.0% during the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Michael Robert Pesch bought 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $247.12 per share, for a total transaction of $988,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 41,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,341,724.88. This trade represents a 10.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AJG shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $340.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $365.00 to $366.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $330.00 to $277.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $361.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $256.70 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $285.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $305.32. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $239.47 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of $65.82 billion, a PE ratio of 36.46 and a beta of 0.71.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.19). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 38.86%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.