KBC Group NV Has $55.82 Million Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 198,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 53,106 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.09% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $55,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% during the 2nd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AJG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Bank Of America (Bofa) increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.14.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total value of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. This trade represents a 17.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,211,438. The trade was a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG opened at $294.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $64.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.12, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $288.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $274.11. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $218.63 and a 1-year high of $301.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.26. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.71%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.