KBC Group NV Has $37.18 Million Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• KBC Group NV cut its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher by 8.3%, selling 13,035 shares and ending the quarter with 143,679 shares valued at $37.18 million; institutional investors own 85.53% of AJG.
• Analysts are mixed but the consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $273.94, following several small target adjustments from firms like Jefferies, UBS, Citigroup and Barclays.
• Insiders sold shares in March (VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares; VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000), while AJG raised its quarterly dividend to $0.70 (annualized $2.80, ~1.2% yield) and reported quarterly EPS of $2.38, slightly beating estimates though revenue was a touch below consensus.

KBC Group NV decreased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 143,679 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,035 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned 0.06% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $37,182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 102,631 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,560,000 after acquiring an additional 7,478 shares during the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $459,000. Patton Fund Management Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 950 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Third View Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $1,268,000. Finally, Fourpath Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC now owns 27,358 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,080,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AJG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $259.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $273.94.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,552,814.40. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.5%

AJG stock opened at $224.21 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $195.00 and a twelve month high of $351.23. The company has a market cap of $57.65 billion, a PE ratio of 36.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.68. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $216.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $246.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.The business had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is presently 45.53%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company's core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.

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