Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Acquires 7,025 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Van Hulzen Asset Management increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 7,025 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 95,470 shares worth about $24.7 million.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with EPS of $4.47 topping estimates, while revenue rose 29% year over year to $4.71 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share payable June 19, and analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $264.

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,470 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,025 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for about 1.8% of Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $24,707,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter valued at about $9,877,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,299,674,000 after buying an additional 3,330,205 shares during the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 65,889 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,398,000 after buying an additional 6,090 shares during the last quarter. Cincinnati Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,824,000. Finally, Factory Mutual Insurance Co. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 241.4% in the third quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 49,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,332,000 after acquiring an additional 35,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE:AJG opened at $207.53 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $190.75 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $211.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $53.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.58, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.54.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is presently 45.31%.

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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group set a $240.00 target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $280.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $264.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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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