Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Purchased by Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 98,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,892 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises about 2.0% of Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $27,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.8 %

AJG opened at $325.35 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $312.16 and a 200-day moving average of $298.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.90 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $230.08 and a 1-year high of $345.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. As a group, sell-side 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 39.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total value of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 69,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,536,304.26. This represents a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total transaction of $104,669.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. This trade represents a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company 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 business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.