Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Aon plc $AON

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 28,340 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $38,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in AON by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 70 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in AON during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AON in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AON

In other news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total transaction of $1,641,981.60. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were 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 $45,651,320. This represents a 2.88% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AON opened at $333.08 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $337.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $347.72. The stock has a market cap of $71.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $304.59 and a 12 month high of $407.07.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.10. The firm 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 target price on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of AON from $448.00 to $443.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Sunday, February 1st. Barclays upped their price target on AON from $379.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $398.00 to $397.00 in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.