Scharf Investments LLC Has $73.44 Million Holdings in Aon plc $AON

Scharf Investments LLC lowered its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 208,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,977 shares during the period. AON accounts for approximately 2.0% of Scharf Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Scharf Investments LLC owned 0.10% of AON worth $73,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AON. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AON during the 4th quarter valued at $4,305,000. Silver Lake Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in AON in the third quarter worth $1,292,000. Callan Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of AON by 220.7% during the third quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 11,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,163,000 after purchasing an additional 8,034 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of AON during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,752,000. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its position in shares of AON by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 2,053,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $732,299,000 after purchasing an additional 332,685 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AON shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 price target on AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Bank of America raised AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $398.00 to $397.00 in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AON in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $436.00 price objective on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $406.69.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $319.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,276,960.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 143,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,651,320. This represents a 2.88% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 20,254 shares in the company, valued at $6,598,550.66. The trade was a 19.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of AON stock opened at $322.62 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $69.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $328.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $342.27. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $304.59 and a 12-month high of $401.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.10. AON had a return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The business had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

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

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.