Avanza Fonder AB Acquires 1,825 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Avanza Fonder AB grew its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,825 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in AON were worth $6,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in AON by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,229,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,291,048,000 after buying an additional 105,154 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in AON by 5.9% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,715,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,324,818,000 after buying an additional 207,690 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox bought a new stake in AON during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,235,437,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of AON by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,330,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $830,945,000 after acquiring an additional 249,549 shares during the period. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AON by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,278,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $812,295,000 after acquiring an additional 291,600 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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 the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 owned by insiders.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $326.04 on Tuesday. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $304.59 and a fifty-two 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 firm has a market capitalization of $69.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.16, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $331.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $344.25.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.10. The company 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%. AON’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.745 per share. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. AON’s payout ratio is presently 17.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AON has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $436.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of AON from $433.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Mizuho raised shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $397.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of AON from $448.00 to $443.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AON currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.