Blair William & Co. IL Reduces Position in Aon plc $AON

Blair William & Co. IL trimmed its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 529,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 38,214 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in AON were worth $188,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Silver Lake Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,292,000. Callan Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of AON by 220.7% in the 3rd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 11,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,163,000 after buying an additional 8,034 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in AON during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,752,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP raised its stake in AON by 19.3% during the third quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 2,053,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $732,299,000 after buying an additional 332,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Factory Mutual Insurance Co. boosted its holdings in AON by 10.9% in the third quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 51,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,186,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:AON opened at $340.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap 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. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $337.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $348.37. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $304.59 and a 12 month high of $407.07.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company 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 business posted $4.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of AON 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 transaction, the general counsel directly owned 20,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,598,550.66. The trade was a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $319.24 per share, with a total value of $1,276,960.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,651,320. This trade represents a 2.88% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AON. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $436.00 price target on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 price target on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $408.94.

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.