Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 95,470 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,025 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up 1.8% of Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $24,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,390,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,123,534,000 after purchasing an additional 217,136 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,299,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,330,205 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.9% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,783,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,649,477,000 after purchasing an additional 101,298 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,891,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,373,403,000 after purchasing an additional 147,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,194,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,228,156,000 after purchasing an additional 45,256 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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 in the company, valued at $19,552,814.40. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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 owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on AJG. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $235.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.9%

AJG opened at $207.53 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $190.75 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a fifty day moving average of $211.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.58, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.54.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.31%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.