Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Sells 909,275 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership trimmed its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 41.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,266,770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 909,275 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 0.59% of AON worth $451,705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of AON by 12.1% during the second quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AON by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 11,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,016,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AON by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of AON by 9.0% during the second quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 3,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in AON by 9.8% during the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $641,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AON. Barclays boosted 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. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of AON from $419.00 to $416.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $408.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $409.75.

AON Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of AON stock opened at $330.09 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $304.59 and a 12-month high of $412.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $339.57 and its 200 day moving average is $349.55.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. AON had a return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The company’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.42 EPS. Research analysts expect 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 paid a $0.745 dividend. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 17.51%.

Insider Activity at AON

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $319.24 per share, with a total value of $1,276,960.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 143,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,651,320. The trade was a 2.88% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 20,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,598,550.66. This represents a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.