Aon plc $AON Stock: Ninety One SA Pty Ltd Reduces Holdings

Ninety One SA Pty Ltd decreased its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 59.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,146 shares during the quarter. Ninety One SA Pty Ltd’s holdings in AON were worth $766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of AON by 740.2% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 218,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,524,000 after buying an additional 192,652 shares in the last quarter. Ashurst Perkins Coie Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter valued at about $60,000. Triangle Securities Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter valued at about $297,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of AON by 350.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 12,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,508,000 after acquiring an additional 9,864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Pacific Financial raised its position in shares of AON by 17,600.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock traded up $12.47 on Thursday, hitting $287.82. The stock had a trading volume of 1,009,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,525,677. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $266.33 and a 52-week high of $382.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market cap of $61.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $313.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $326.52.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. AON’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,950 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Friday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $372.05, for a total value of $725,497.50. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 13,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,986,958.20. The trade was a 12.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lester Knight purchased 20,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $327.48 per share, with a total value of $6,549,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 163,000 shares in the company, valued at $53,379,240. The trade was a 13.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AON has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of AON from $433.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of AON in a report on Monday, August 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of AON from $383.00 to $323.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of AON from $417.00 to $342.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AON currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $367.59.

AON Company Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk, make better decisions and improve performance. Its services are organized around risk capital and human capital, combining advisory expertise, data, analytics and insurance-related solutions.

The company provides commercial risk brokerage and consulting, reinsurance brokerage, retirement and investment advisory services, health benefits consulting, talent and compensation consulting, and related technology and data products.