HF Advisory Group LLC Acquires 2,899 Shares of Aon plc $AON

HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 392.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,899 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $1,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AON. Aviva PLC grew its position in AON by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 333,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $117,669,000 after acquiring an additional 6,622 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in AON by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,251,000 after purchasing an additional 6,509 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in AON by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 67,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,655,000 after purchasing an additional 5,585 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 1,864.5% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 343,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,304,000 after purchasing an additional 326,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AON during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,359,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Price Performance

AON stock opened at $357.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $345.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $332.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $304.59 and a 12-month high of $382.34.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.01. AON had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 42.13%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.49 earnings per share. AON’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aon plc will post 19.06 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. AON’s payout ratio is 18.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $372.05, for a total transaction of $725,497.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 13,404 shares in the company, valued at $4,986,958.20. This represents a 12.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 4,450 shares of company stock worth $1,659,242 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on AON from $416.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of AON from $426.00 to $437.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of AON from $406.00 to $419.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of AON from $383.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of AON from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AON currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $410.75.

About AON

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.