DNB Asset Management AS Boosts Stake in Aon plc $AON

DNB Asset Management AS increased its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,863 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in AON were worth $14,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,289,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,238,569,000 after purchasing an additional 511,292 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AON by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,588,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,987,961,000 after buying an additional 173,722 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew 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 acquiring an additional 207,690 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 316,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its holdings 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 worth $776,326,000 after acquiring an additional 40,213 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Up 1.5%

AON opened at $335.11 on Friday. Aon plc has a one year low of $304.59 and a one year high of $412.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $339.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $349.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.83.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.10. AON had a return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $398.00 to $397.00 in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on AON from $410.00 to $416.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Mizuho raised AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $397.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 price target on AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on AON from $379.00 to $381.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AON presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $408.94.

Insider Transactions at AON

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 20,254 shares in the company, valued at $6,598,550.66. This trade represents a 19.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 4,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $319.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,276,960.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,651,320. This trade represents a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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.