Grove Bank & Trust Reduces Holdings in Aon plc $AON

Grove Bank & Trust lowered its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 69.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,016 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in AON were worth $479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in AON by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,229,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,291,048,000 after buying an additional 105,154 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in AON by 5.9% in 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 buying an additional 207,690 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,235,437,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 12.0% during the third quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,330,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $830,945,000 after acquiring an additional 249,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AON by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,278,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $812,295,000 after acquiring an additional 291,600 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON opened at $325.30 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $304.59 and a 1 year high of $402.49. The company’s fifty day moving average is $331.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $344.58.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.10. AON had a net margin of 21.51% and a return on equity of 45.23%. The company had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.42 EPS. The business’s revenue 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 year.

AON Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at AON

In related news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of AON 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 sale, the general counsel directly owned 20,254 shares in the company, valued at $6,598,550.66. The trade was a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $319.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,276,960.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AON. Barclays increased their price target 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 upgraded shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $398.00 to $397.00 in a research note on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $385.00 target price on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $408.00 price target on shares of AON in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.