Aon plc $AON Shares Sold by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc lowered its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 153,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,902 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.07% of AON worth $54,093,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AON by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 70 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new stake in AON during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AON during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AON

In other AON news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were 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 directly owned 20,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,598,550.66. This represents a 19.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lester B. Knight bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, 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 Stock Up 0.0%

AON opened at $323.28 on Friday. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $304.59 and a 1 year high of $400.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $327.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $341.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. The company has a market cap of $69.26 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.83.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.10. AON had a net margin of 21.51% and a return on equity of 45.23%. 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 company posted $4.42 earnings per share. AON’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 presently 17.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 price target on AON in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of AON from $402.00 to $412.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of AON from $448.00 to $443.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $408.00 price target on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $406.69.

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.