Salvus Wealth Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Aon plc $AON

Salvus Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 26.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,782 shares during the period. Salvus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $1,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AON by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,171,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,117,960,000 after purchasing an additional 191,658 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of AON by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,252,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,323,850,000 after buying an additional 176,207 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,229,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,291,048,000 after buying an additional 105,154 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox boosted its position in shares of AON by 126.6% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 7,852,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,770,975,000 after acquiring an additional 4,387,773 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in AON by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,141,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,810,726,000 after acquiring an additional 28,066 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $356.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.54 billion, a PE ratio of 19.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.69. 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. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $345.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $332.56.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released 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. The company 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%.AON’s quarterly revenue 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 19.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of AON from $383.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of AON from $416.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a report on Friday, July 17th. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $420.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on AON from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AON presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $410.75.

Insider Activity

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

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.