GAMMA Investing LLC Invests $110,000 in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $110,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cubic Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AON during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,050,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in AON by 177.4% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,372,000 after buying an additional 11,806 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in AON in the 4th quarter valued at $3,203,000. James Hambro & Partners grew its position in AON by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. James Hambro & Partners now owns 223,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,137,000 after buying an additional 20,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Family Office LLC grew its position in AON by 45.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 15,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,081,000 after buying an additional 4,872 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AON has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of AON from $342.00 to $325.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of AON from $306.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AON has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $334.69.

AON Stock Down 6.9 %

Shares of AON opened at $285.03 on Monday. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $268.06 and a 52-week high of $347.37. The firm has a market cap of $56.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.34, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s 50 day moving average is $317.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $313.97.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.86 by ($0.20). AON had a negative return on equity of 1,083.00% and a net margin of 19.04%. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.17 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Aon plc will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. This is a boost from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.28%.

Insider Activity at AON

In related news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Christa Davies sold 40,164 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.29, for a total value of $12,582,979.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 159,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,991,685.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 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 completion of the purchase, the director now owns 134,000 shares in the company, 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 90 days. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.