Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Shares Purchased by Ninety One UK Ltd

Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 959 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in AON were worth $2,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $845,578,000 after acquiring an additional 2,814,643 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AON during the fourth quarter worth $341,922,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in AON by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,223,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $667,355,000 after purchasing an additional 620,067 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in AON by 200.5% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 831,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $287,171,000 after purchasing an additional 555,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp lifted its stake in AON by 410.9% during the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 654,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $212,184,000 after purchasing an additional 526,353 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In other AON news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $234,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,869 shares in the company, valued at $1,207,128. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,463,980. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $234,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,128. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on AON from $306.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on AON from $304.00 to $295.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AON currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $334.69.

AON Price Performance

NYSE:AON opened at $308.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.21 billion, a PE ratio of 24.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $317.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $314.92. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $284.85 and a 12 month high of $347.37.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.89 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 15.82 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 21.63%.

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.