46,705 Aon plc $AON Shares Sold by Ninety One North America Inc.

Ninety One North America Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 43.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 61,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 46,705 shares during the quarter. Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $17,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AON. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of AON by 74.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 797,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $257,391,000 after buying an additional 340,866 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in AON by 136.1% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 547,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,835,000 after buying an additional 315,817 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in AON by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,502,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $485,103,000 after buying an additional 285,549 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in AON by 16.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,582,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $510,857,000 after acquiring an additional 222,092 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in AON by 20.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,253,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $404,709,000 after acquiring an additional 213,051 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AON

In related news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $327.48 per share, with a total value of $6,549,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 163,000 shares in the company, valued at $53,379,240. The trade was a 13.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $372.05, for a total transaction of $725,497.50. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 13,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,986,958.20. The trade was a 12.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

AON Price Performance

AON stock traded up $12.68 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $288.02. 976,097 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,525,677. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $313.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $326.52. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $266.33 and a 1-year high of $382.34. The company has a market cap of $61.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. AON had a return on equity of 42.13% and a net margin of 22.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of AON from $410.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of AON from $391.00 to $349.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Wolfe Research cut shares of AON from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of AON from $298.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $367.59.

About AON

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk, make better decisions and improve performance. Its services are organized around risk capital and human capital, combining advisory expertise, data, analytics and insurance-related solutions.

The company provides commercial risk brokerage and consulting, reinsurance brokerage, retirement and investment advisory services, health benefits consulting, talent and compensation consulting, and related technology and data products.