Cerity Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 177.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,806 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $5,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AON. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AON by 106,777.0% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,817,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $845,578,000 after buying an additional 2,814,643 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter worth approximately $341,922,000. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in AON by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,223,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $667,355,000 after purchasing an additional 620,067 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in AON by 200.5% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 831,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $287,171,000 after purchasing an additional 555,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp increased its holdings in AON by 410.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 654,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $212,184,000 after purchasing an additional 526,353 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AON has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen assumed coverage on AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on AON from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on AON from $342.00 to $325.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $335.36.

AON Price Performance

NYSE:AON opened at $304.09 on Wednesday. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $284.85 and a 12-month high of $347.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $317.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $315.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.86.

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

AON Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $40,463,980. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total value of $4,098,380.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,175,613.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805. 1.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.