Aon plc $AON Shares Sold by Grove Bank & Trust

Grove Bank & Trust lowered its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 69.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,016 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in AON were worth $479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AON by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 70 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in AON during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the third quarter worth $35,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Stock Up 2.6%

AON opened at $325.30 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $69.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $331.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $344.58. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $304.59 and a 52 week high of $402.49. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company posted $4.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.745 dividend. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 other AON news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the business’s 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 directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,651,320. The trade was a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AON. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on AON from $448.00 to $443.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $436.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of AON from $379.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $397.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.