Everence Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 23.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $1,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AON. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in AON by 1.1% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,479,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,452,390,000 after buying an additional 50,290 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in AON by 106,777.0% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,817,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $845,578,000 after purchasing an additional 2,814,643 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,331,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $678,406,000 after buying an additional 179,238 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in AON by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,244,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $727,844,000 after acquiring an additional 18,500 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,223,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $667,355,000 after purchasing an additional 620,067 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE AON opened at $304.09 on Wednesday. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $284.85 and a 52 week high of $347.37. The company has a market capitalization of $60.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $317.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $315.03.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.07 by ($0.18). AON had a net margin of 19.17% and a negative return on equity of 1,150.40%. The firm had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 15.77 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. AON’s payout ratio is 19.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of AON from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 22nd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of AON from $306.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $335.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In related news, CFO Christa Davies sold 20,618 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.40, for a total value of $6,420,445.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 159,570 shares in the company, valued at $49,690,098. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total transaction of $4,098,380.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,175,613.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Christa Davies sold 20,618 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.40, for a total transaction of $6,420,445.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 159,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,690,098. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805. Insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

AON Profile

Aon plc, a professional services firm, provides a range of risk and human capital solutions worldwide. It offers commercial risk solutions, including retail brokerage, specialty solutions, global risk consulting and captives management, and affinity programs; and health solutions, such as health and benefits brokerages, and health care exchanges.