Cwm LLC Grows Position in Aon plc $AON

Cwm LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,471 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $4,916,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. purchased a new position in AON during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,305,000. Silver Lake Advisory LLC purchased a new position in AON during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,292,000. Callan Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in AON by 220.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 8,034 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in AON during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,752,000. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $732,299,000 after acquiring an additional 332,685 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on AON. Citigroup raised their target price on AON from $402.00 to $412.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 target price on AON in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of AON in a report on Monday, March 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on AON from $443.00 to $402.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.81.

Insider Activity at AON

In related news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the general counsel 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lester B. Knight bought 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the director owned 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,651,320. The trade was a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AON Price Performance

AON stock opened at $334.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50-day moving average is $325.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $339.11. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $304.59 and a 1 year high of $381.00.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. AON had a return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.AON’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.42 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 18.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 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.