California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 26,536 Shares of Aon plc $AON

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 707,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,536 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.33% of AON worth $252,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of AON by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. now owns 2,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $995,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of AON by 23.8% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 59,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,100,000 after acquiring an additional 11,395 shares during the period. Arkos Global Advisors bought a new stake in AON in the third quarter valued at approximately $355,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in AON by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,181,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $421,389,000 after purchasing an additional 121,116 shares during the period. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AON by 60.9% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 115,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,188,000 after purchasing an additional 43,733 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Up 1.7%

AON stock opened at $321.39 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $68.86 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.82. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $304.59 and a 12-month high of $402.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $334.50 and its 200 day moving average is $346.26. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. AON had a net margin of 21.51% and a return on equity of 45.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.745 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $319.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,276,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 143,000 shares in the company, valued at $45,651,320. The trade was a 2.88% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the 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 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on AON. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of AON from $433.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of AON from $379.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Bank of America raised shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $398.00 to $397.00 in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Mizuho upgraded AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $397.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 price objective on AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AON currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $408.94.

AON Company 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.