Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 3,999 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lowered its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 3.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 113,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,999 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $40,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dodge & Cox bought a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,235,437,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AON during the second quarter worth $754,671,000. Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new position in shares of AON during the third quarter valued at $504,424,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in AON by 40,219.8% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 846,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,922,000 after acquiring an additional 844,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its position in AON by 41.6% in the third quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,096,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $747,565,000 after purchasing an additional 615,570 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $321.39 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $68.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.82. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $304.59 and a 12 month high of $402.49. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $334.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $346.26. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.42 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $319.24 per share, with a total value of $1,276,960.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,651,320. The trade was a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total transaction of $1,641,981.60. Following the completion of 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AON shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of AON from $448.00 to $443.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 price objective on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $436.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of AON from $402.00 to $412.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $408.94.

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.