KBC Group NV Has $47.05 Million Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

KBC Group NV cut its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 4.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 146,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,101 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned about 0.06% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $47,046,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AJG. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 98.2% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth about $252,000. VeraBank N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 136.1% in the second quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 7,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,497,000 after acquiring an additional 4,497 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 735,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $234,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,806 shares during the period. Finally, Factory Mutual Insurance Co. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 107.1% during the 2nd quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 14,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,642,000 after buying an additional 7,500 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $255.86 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $286.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $305.66. The firm has a market cap of $65.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.34 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $239.47 and a 52 week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.86%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at $30,186,742.58. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 over the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $275.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $361.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One research 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.64.

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.