Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Buys 33,616 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 316.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 44,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,616 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in AON were worth $12,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AON. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in AON by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Aspen Grove Capital LLC lifted its holdings in AON by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Aspen Grove Capital LLC now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Novem Group lifted its holdings in AON by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Novem Group now owns 3,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $958,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in AON by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RDA Financial Network boosted its position in AON by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 1,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AON. Wolfe Research cut AON from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on AON from $417.00 to $342.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on AON from $375.00 to $401.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on AON from $387.00 to $383.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on AON in a research report on Monday, September 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $435.00 price objective for the company. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AON presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $367.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

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 cost of $327.48 per share, for a total transaction of $6,549,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 163,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,379,240. This trade represents a 13.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.76, for a total value of $717,744.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 11,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,345,751.04. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AON Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE AON opened at $303.47 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $305.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $325.24. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $266.33 and a fifty-two week high of $382.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.54.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.01. AON had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 42.13%. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Aon plc will post 18.73 EPS for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 18.08%.

AON Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk, make informed decisions and improve workforce outcomes. Its services span commercial risk, health, retirement and investments, and data and analytics.

The company provides insurance brokerage and risk-management services, including coverage placement, claims support, risk transfer and consulting. Through its reinsurance business, Aon also serves insurers and other organizations seeking to manage catastrophe, capital and underwriting risks.

Aon’s human capital offerings include employee benefits consulting, retirement advisory services, talent and compensation consulting, and health and workforce solutions.