Barings LLC Boosts Position in Aon plc $AON

Barings LLC increased its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 1,241.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,186 shares during the period. Barings LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $21,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Matrix Trust Co increased its stake in AON by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Busey Bank raised its stake in AON by 0.3% in the third quarter. Busey Bank now owns 9,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,411,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC lifted its position in AON by 9.1% during the second quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP increased its holdings in shares of AON by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 2,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $823,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Martin Investment Management LLC grew its position in AON by 1.8% in the third quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC now owns 1,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $708,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AON

In related news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $319.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,276,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 143,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,651,320. The trade was a 2.88% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the general counsel owned 20,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,598,550.66. This trade represents a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on AON from $402.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price target on shares of AON in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 price target on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $436.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AON presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $409.75.

AON Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of AON stock opened at $325.14 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $341.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $350.70. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $304.59 and a 52-week high of $412.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. AON had a net margin of 21.51% and a return on equity of 45.23%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.42 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.51%.

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.