Lester B. Knight Purchases 10,000 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Stock

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Director Lester B. Knight purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $276.61 per share, for a total transaction of $2,766,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 139,000 shares in the company, valued at $38,448,790. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

AON Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:AON opened at $288.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $62.70 billion, a PE ratio of 22.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.90. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $268.06 and a 12 month high of $347.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $312.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $311.97.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.86 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. AON had a net margin of 19.04% and a negative return on equity of 1,083.00%. AON’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.17 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 15.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. AON’s payout ratio is currently 21.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AON has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of AON from $325.00 to $315.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.69.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AON

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AON. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of AON by 2.2% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 28,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,311,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in shares of AON by 5.8% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of AON by 9.9% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,085,000 after buying an additional 5,848 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON during the third quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, Calamos Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AON by 4.0% during the third quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,143,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.