Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Decreases Stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC cut its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 33,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,077 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $9,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AON. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the fourth quarter worth $157,650,000. Busey Bank boosted its position in AON by 111.6% during the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 9,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,884,000 after purchasing an additional 5,227 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in AON by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,258,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in AON by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubic Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the fourth quarter worth $1,050,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on AON from $306.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on AON from $304.00 to $295.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 21st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on AON from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 22nd. UBS Group cut their price target on AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on AON from $342.00 to $325.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $335.36.

Insider Transactions at AON

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

AON Trading Down 0.4 %

AON stock opened at $304.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $317.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $315.03. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $284.85 and a 52 week high of $347.37.

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

AON Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.71%.

AON 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.