Aon plc $AON Stake Increased by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 25.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 113,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,607 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.05% of AON worth $31,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in AON by 11,179.6% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,026,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,114,313,000 after acquiring an additional 3,990,441 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its stake in shares of AON by 419.8% during the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 836,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,638,000 after purchasing an additional 675,919 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of AON by 74.7% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 797,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $257,391,000 after purchasing an additional 340,866 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of AON by 754.4% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 380,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $105,348,000 after purchasing an additional 336,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of AON by 136.1% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 547,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $176,835,000 after purchasing an additional 315,817 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lester Knight purchased 20,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $327.48 per share, with a total value of $6,549,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 163,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,379,240. This trade represents a 13.99% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AON shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of AON from $410.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of AON from $323.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AON from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, September 6th. Roth Capital set a $380.00 price objective on shares of AON and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on AON in a research note on Monday, September 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $435.00 target price for the company. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AON has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $369.12.

AON Stock Performance

AON stock opened at $336.27 on Wednesday. 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 4.72, a quick ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The stock has a market cap of $71.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $300.38 and a 200-day moving average of $325.95.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.30 by $0.06. AON had a net margin of 22.24% and a return on equity of 40.46%. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.05 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Aon plc will post 18.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 17.96%.

AON Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk and make decisions about their people and finances. Its services include insurance brokerage, risk consulting, reinsurance solutions, employee benefits consulting and retirement and investment advisory services. The company serves businesses and institutions across a broad range of industries and geographies. Aon was formed in 1982 as Ryan Insurance Group and adopted the Aon name in 1987. It is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and operates internationally.