Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Shares Purchased by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 55.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 72,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 25,896 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in AON were worth $21,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AON. Cubic Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AON in the fourth quarter worth $1,050,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 177.4% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,372,000 after purchasing an additional 11,806 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,203,000. Pathstone Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of AON by 45.1% in the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 15,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,081,000 after buying an additional 4,872 shares during the period. Finally, James Hambro & Partners lifted its stake in shares of AON by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. James Hambro & Partners now owns 223,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,137,000 after buying an additional 20,239 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:AON opened at $311.02 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $317.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $314.64. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $284.85 and a 12 month high of $347.37. The stock has a market cap of $61.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.86.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.07 by ($0.18). AON had a net margin of 19.17% and a negative return on equity of 1,150.40%. The company had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.89 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 15.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $234,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,207,128. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805 over the last three months. 1.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of AON from $342.00 to $325.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $334.69.

AON Company Profile

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.