3,112 Shares in Aon plc $AON Purchased by Cambria Investment Management L.P.

Cambria Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 2.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,289,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,238,569,000 after buying an additional 511,292 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AON by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,588,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,987,961,000 after acquiring an additional 173,722 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in AON by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,715,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,324,818,000 after acquiring an additional 207,690 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,706,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $965,715,000 after purchasing an additional 316,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of AON by 1.9% during the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,176,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $776,326,000 after purchasing an additional 40,213 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Trading Up 0.6%

AON stock opened at $341.10 on Thursday. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $304.59 and a twelve month high of $407.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $338.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $348.61.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.10. AON had a net margin of 21.51% and a return on equity of 45.23%. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.745 dividend. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. AON’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AON shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on AON from $433.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AON in a report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 price target on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $436.00 target price on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AON has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $408.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AON news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total value of $1,641,981.60. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 20,254 shares in the company, valued at $6,598,550.66. This trade represents a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lester B. Knight bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $319.24 per share, with a total value of $1,276,960.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,651,320. This trade represents a 2.88% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AON Company Profile

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.