Aon plc $AON Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 250,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,444 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $80,994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of AON by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $683,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $558,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. City National Bank of Florida MSD boosted its stake in AON by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. City National Bank of Florida MSD now owns 867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AON by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $664,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in AON by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AON. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of AON from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $377.00 in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of AON from $416.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of AON from $389.00 to $426.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of AON from $409.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $404.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AON news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 15,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,527,440. This represents a 3.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AON Stock Up 3.7%

AON stock opened at $368.16 on Friday. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $304.59 and a twelve month high of $381.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market cap of $78.63 billion, a PE ratio of 20.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $331.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $330.94.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.37 by $0.11. AON had a net margin of 22.54% and a return on equity of 43.50%. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.67 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Aon plc will post 19.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.00%.

AON 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.