Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Sells 432 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 432 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $9,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Cubic Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON in the fourth quarter worth $1,050,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AON by 177.4% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,372,000 after acquiring an additional 11,806 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON in the fourth quarter worth $3,203,000. Pathstone Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of AON by 45.1% in the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 15,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,081,000 after acquiring an additional 4,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, James Hambro & Partners boosted its position in shares of AON by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. James Hambro & Partners now owns 223,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,137,000 after buying an additional 20,239 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AON shares. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on AON from $306.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on AON from $342.00 to $325.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AON currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $334.69.

AON Trading Down 0.9 %

AON traded down $2.90 on Thursday, hitting $305.93. 1,365,413 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 991,828. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $317.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $314.43. The firm has a market cap of $60.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.86. Aon plc has a one year low of $284.85 and a one year high of $347.37.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.07 by ($0.18). AON had a net margin of 19.17% and a negative return on equity of 1,150.40%. The business had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.36 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 15.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a $0.675 dividend. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. AON’s payout ratio is presently 19.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $301.97 per share, with a total value of $15,098,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other AON news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total value of $4,098,380.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,175,613.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at $40,463,980. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805 in the last quarter. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About AON

Aon plc, a professional services firm, provides a range of risk and human capital solutions worldwide. It offers commercial risk solutions, including retail brokerage, specialty solutions, global risk consulting and captives management, and affinity programs; and health solutions, such as health and benefits brokerages, and health care exchanges.