Clearstead Advisors LLC Has $3.64 Million Position in Aon plc $AON

Clearstead Advisors LLC cut its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,503 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $3,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AON. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in AON by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,289,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,238,569,000 after buying an additional 511,292 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AON by 3.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,588,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,987,961,000 after acquiring an additional 173,722 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in AON by 5.9% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,715,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,324,818,000 after purchasing an additional 207,690 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in AON by 13.2% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,706,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $965,715,000 after purchasing an additional 316,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of AON by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,176,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $776,326,000 after purchasing an additional 40,213 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at AON

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $319.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,276,960.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 143,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,651,320. This trade represents a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total value of $1,641,981.60. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 20,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,598,550.66. This represents a 19.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AON Stock Performance

NYSE:AON opened at $315.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $304.59 and a fifty-two week high of $412.97. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $341.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $350.19. The company has a market capitalization of $67.60 billion, a PE ratio of 18.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.83.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.42 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.745 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on AON shares. Barclays upped their price objective on AON from $379.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho set a $398.00 price target on shares of AON in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $409.75.

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.