DAVENPORT & Co LLC Trims Position in Aon plc $AON

DAVENPORT & Co LLC trimmed its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 269,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,532 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC owned 0.13% of AON worth $95,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Matrix Trust Co raised its holdings in AON by 7.1% during the third quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Busey Bank raised its stake in AON by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Busey Bank now owns 9,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,411,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp lifted its holdings in AON by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Up 0.3%

AON stock opened at $326.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $330.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $343.95. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $304.59 and a fifty-two week high of $402.49. The firm has a market cap of $70.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.82. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 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 business had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.42 earnings per share. AON’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.745 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.51%.

Insider Activity

In other AON news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the general counsel directly owned 20,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,598,550.66. The trade was a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $319.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,276,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,651,320. This trade 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AON has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $398.00 to $397.00 in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 target price on shares of AON in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of AON from $448.00 to $443.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $436.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $406.69.

About AON

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.