Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 4,701 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 256,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,701 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of AON worth $91,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AON in the third quarter valued at approximately $274,000. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AON by 292.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,959 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,010,000 after acquiring an additional 2,205 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of AON by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 9,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,425,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Martin Investment Management LLC increased its stake in AON by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC now owns 1,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in shares of AON by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 1,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on AON shares. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of AON from $419.00 to $416.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on AON from $448.00 to $443.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Sunday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $408.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $408.44.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $349.90 on Tuesday. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $323.73 and a 52 week high of $412.97. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $347.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $353.68. The firm has a market cap of $75.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.03.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.10. AON had a net margin of 21.51% and a return on equity of 45.23%. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.745 per share. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. AON’s payout ratio is 17.51%.

AON Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that provides a broad suite of risk, retirement and health solutions to corporations, institutions and individuals. The company operates primarily as an insurance broker and risk adviser, helping clients identify, quantify and transfer risk across property, casualty, cyber and other areas. Aon also offers reinsurance brokerage and capital market solutions that connect insurers, reinsurers and corporate buyers.

In addition to traditional brokerage activities, Aon delivers consulting and outsourcing services in areas such as human capital, benefits, and retirement plan design and administration.