Machina Capital S.A.S. Lowers Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Machina Capital S.A.S. lowered its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 256 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in AON were worth $869,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AON. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in AON by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,858,000 after acquiring an additional 884 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in shares of AON by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,220,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of AON by 39.5% in the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of AON by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of AON by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 26,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,621,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AON. TD Cowen began coverage on AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on AON from $325.00 to $315.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.69.

AON Stock Up 1.0 %

AON traded up $2.88 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $288.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,437,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,128,761. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $313.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $312.16. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $268.06 and a 12 month high of $347.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.90.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.86 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.14 billion. AON had a net margin of 19.04% and a negative return on equity of 1,083.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 15.59 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. AON’s payout ratio is presently 21.16%.

Insider Transactions at AON

In other news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,175,613.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total value of $4,098,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,175,613.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $301.97 per share, with a total value of $15,098,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805 over the last 90 days. 1.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About AON

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.