Bank of Nova Scotia Buys 11,395 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,395 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in AON were worth $21,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Silver Lake Advisory LLC bought a new stake in AON during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,292,000. Callan Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of AON by 220.7% in the 3rd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 11,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,163,000 after purchasing an additional 8,034 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,752,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP grew its position in shares of AON by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 2,053,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $732,299,000 after buying an additional 332,685 shares during the period. Finally, Factory Mutual Insurance Co. raised its stake in shares of AON by 10.9% during the third quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 51,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,186,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AON

In related news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $319.24 per share, with a total value of $1,276,960.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 143,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,651,320. This represents a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

AON Price Performance

AON opened at $326.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $69.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G 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 company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $334.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $345.98.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during 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 company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of AON from $410.00 to $416.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $436.00 price target on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $385.00 target price on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $408.94.

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.