Aon plc $AON Stock: Ninety One UK Ltd Raises Stake

Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 419.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 836,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 675,919 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd owned approximately 0.39% of AON worth $231,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,115,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $746,526,000 after purchasing an additional 19,037 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake 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 worth $510,857,000 after purchasing an additional 222,092 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in AON by 23.5% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,502,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $485,103,000 after purchasing an additional 285,549 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in AON by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,253,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $404,709,000 after purchasing an additional 213,051 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in AON by 74.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 797,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $257,391,000 after purchasing an additional 340,866 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Up 4.5%

NYSE AON traded up $12.39 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $287.74. 1,009,333 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,525,677. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The company has a market cap of $61.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $313.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $326.52. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $266.33 and a 52 week high of $382.34.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AON shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on AON from $391.00 to $349.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on AON from $410.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of AON from $366.00 to $324.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Evercore cut their target price on shares of AON from $423.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of AON from $383.00 to $323.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $367.59.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,950 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This represents a 12.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lester B. Knight bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $327.48 per share, with a total value of $6,549,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 163,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,379,240. This represents a 13.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AON Company Profile

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.