Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Decreases Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lowered its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Menard Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% in the first quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,761,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value of $2,396,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael Robert Pesch bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $247.12 per share, with a total value of $988,480.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 41,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,341,724.88. The trade was a 10.57% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,855 shares of company stock worth $8,916,928. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $365.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $353.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced 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 note on Friday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $256.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $285.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $305.32. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $239.47 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.46 and a beta of 0.71.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

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.