Brookstone Capital Management Reduces Holdings in Aon plc $AON

Brookstone Capital Management lowered its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 51.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,490 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in AON were worth $834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its stake in AON by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 75,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,708,000 after buying an additional 2,086 shares during the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC lifted its stake in AON by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $414,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $559,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Enterprise Financial Services Corp increased its holdings in shares of AON by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 4,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,601,000 after acquiring an additional 46 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 $323.28 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.83. 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 $400.59. The company’s fifty day moving average is $327.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $341.61.

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, beating 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 business had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

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 business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $319.24 per share, with a total value of $1,276,960.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,651,320. This represents a 2.88% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AON shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of AON from $410.00 to $416.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $379.00 to $381.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating 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, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $406.69.

About AON

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.