Barclays PLC Buys 22,872 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 673,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,872 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.31% of AON worth $240,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AON by 5.6% in the third quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Cambria Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in AON during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,110,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in AON by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 943,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $336,529,000 after purchasing an additional 47,335 shares during the last quarter. Managed Asset Portfolios LLC increased its position in shares of AON by 1.1% during the third quarter. Managed Asset Portfolios LLC now owns 54,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,568,000 after buying an additional 598 shares during the period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its stake in AON by 10.9% during the third quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 20,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,233,000 after buying an additional 1,998 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of AON from $410.00 to $416.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Mizuho raised AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $397.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Barclays upped their target price on AON from $379.00 to $381.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on AON from $433.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $436.00 price target on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $408.94.

AON Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of AON stock opened at $340.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.95 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.82. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $304.59 and a 52 week high of $407.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $337.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $348.37. 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 (NYSE:AON) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.10. AON had a return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The company had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.42 earnings per share. AON’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.745 dividend. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.51%.

Insider Transactions at AON

In other news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of AON 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 20,254 shares in the company, valued at $6,598,550.66. This trade represents 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 bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $319.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,276,960.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 143,000 shares in the company, valued at $45,651,320. The trade was a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.