Danske Bank A S Makes New Investment in Aon plc $AON

Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 117,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $42,052,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Silver Lake Advisory LLC bought a new stake in AON in the third quarter worth $1,292,000. Callan Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 220.7% during the third 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 stake in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,752,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP grew its position 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 worth $732,299,000 after buying an additional 332,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in AON by 64.9% in the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 19,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,808,000 after acquiring an additional 7,512 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AON 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 value of $1,641,981.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 20,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,598,550.66. The trade was a 19.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 4,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $319.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,276,960.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,651,320. This represents a 2.88% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AON. Bank of America upgraded AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $398.00 to $397.00 in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Mizuho raised shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $397.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 price objective on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of AON from $379.00 to $381.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 price target on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $408.94.

AON Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE AON opened at $318.20 on Thursday. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $304.59 and a 52-week high of $402.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $332.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $345.46. The stock has a market cap of $68.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.70, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.82.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. AON had a net margin of 21.51% and a return on equity of 45.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

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