Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Shares Sold by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 25.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 30,588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,634 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in AON were worth $8,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AON during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in AON during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in AON during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in AON during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Stock Down 1.0 %

AON stock opened at $308.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $317.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $315.56. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $284.85 and a 52 week high of $347.37.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.07 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. AON had a negative return on equity of 1,150.40% and a net margin of 19.17%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.89 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Aon plc will post 15.77 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. This is a boost from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of AON from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of AON from $342.00 to $325.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $337.50.

Insider Activity at AON

In related news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $234,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,128. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $301.97 per share, with a total value of $15,098,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at $40,463,980. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $234,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,128. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805. Corporate insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

AON Company Profile

Aon plc, a professional services firm, provides a range of risk and human capital solutions worldwide. It offers commercial risk solutions, including retail brokerage, specialty solutions, global risk consulting and captives management, and affinity programs; and health solutions, such as health and benefits brokerages, and health care exchanges.