Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Buys 5,944 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,944 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $8,521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in AON by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 70 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AON during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of AON during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in AON in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in AON during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of AON from $433.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of AON from $448.00 to $443.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 price objective on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Mizuho set a $398.00 target price on AON in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $385.00 price target on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $409.75.

AON Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE AON opened at $330.09 on Friday. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $304.59 and a 1 year high of $412.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.73 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.83. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $339.57 and its 200 day moving average is $349.55.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

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 $0.745 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. AON’s payout ratio is 17.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was bought 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 owned 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,651,320. This represents 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 currently owned by insiders.

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.