Danske Bank A S Purchases Shares of 117,932 Aon plc $AON

Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 117,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $42,052,000. Danske Bank A S owned about 0.05% of AON at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dodge & Cox bought a new stake in AON during the third quarter worth approximately $1,235,437,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AON in the second quarter valued at $754,671,000. Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new stake in shares of AON during the 3rd quarter valued at $504,424,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of AON by 40,219.8% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 846,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,922,000 after acquiring an additional 844,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of AON by 41.6% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,096,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $747,565,000 after acquiring an additional 615,570 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AON shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 target price on AON in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 price target on AON in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of AON from $433.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AON in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $385.00 price target on shares of AON in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $408.94.

Insider Activity at AON

In other AON news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total transaction of $1,641,981.60. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 20,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,598,550.66. This trade represents a 19.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the acquisition, the director owned 143,000 shares in the company, valued at $45,651,320. This represents a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $318.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $68.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.82. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $304.59 and a 1-year high of $402.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $332.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $345.46.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.745 per share. 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 (DPR) is currently 17.51%.

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.