Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Shares Purchased by Waterfront Wealth Inc.

Waterfront Wealth Inc. lifted its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Waterfront Wealth Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AON in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AON in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of AON during the first quarter worth $31,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in AON during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON traded up $5.07 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $309.86. 68,512 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 988,880. The company has a market capitalization of $61.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.42, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.86. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $284.85 and a twelve month high of $347.37. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $317.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $314.96.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. AON had a net margin of 19.17% and a negative return on equity of 1,150.40%. AON’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.89 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 19.71%.

Insider Activity at AON

In related news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $301.97 per share, with a total value of $15,098,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,463,980. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at $40,463,980. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Christa Davies sold 20,618 shares of AON stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 159,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,690,098. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AON. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on AON from $304.00 to $295.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $335.36.

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.