Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Has $7.02 Million Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 139.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,490 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,263 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $7,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,422,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,067,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,857,737,000 after buying an additional 305,876 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,327,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910,471 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,779,248,000 after acquiring an additional 787,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $1,421,591,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded down $7.22 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $316.59. The company had a trading volume of 2,753,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,280,723. The firm's fifty day moving average is $330.60 and its 200 day moving average is $307.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.96 billion, a PE ratio of 48.56 and a beta of 0.64. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $232.58 and a twelve month high of $350.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 39.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AJG. Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $315.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,440,499.14. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.