Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Aon plc $AON

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,979,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 310,352 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of AON worth $7,124,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $319.24 per share, with a total value of $1,276,960.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,651,320. This represents a 2.88% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AON opened at $321.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $69.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $343.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $351.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.03. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $304.59 and a 52-week high of $412.97.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. AON had a return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.42 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 price target on AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 price objective on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Mizuho set a $398.00 price target on shares of AON in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $385.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $408.00 price target on shares of AON in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $409.75.

AON 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.