Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Sells 909,275 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership decreased its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 41.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,266,770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 909,275 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in AON were worth $451,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of AON during the third quarter valued at approximately $748,000. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AON by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in AON by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 39,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,079,000 after purchasing an additional 2,863 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 8,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,891,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 33.1% during the third quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 23,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,521,000 after purchasing an additional 5,944 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE AON opened at $330.09 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $339.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $349.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.83. 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 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, beating 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 business had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.42 EPS. AON’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions 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 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 4,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $319.24 per share, with a total value of $1,276,960.00. Following the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AON shares. TD Cowen lowered their target price on AON from $419.00 to $416.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of AON from $402.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of AON from $448.00 to $443.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Sunday, February 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on AON from $379.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 target price on AON in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $409.75.

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.