Natixis Advisors L.P. Trims Stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Natixis Advisors L.P. cut its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 462,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 46,607 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in AON were worth $134,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AON. Cubic Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AON during the fourth quarter valued at $1,050,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in AON by 177.4% during 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 position in shares of AON during the 4th quarter worth about $3,203,000. James Hambro & Partners grew its holdings in shares of AON by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. James Hambro & Partners now owns 223,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,137,000 after purchasing an additional 20,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of AON by 45.1% during the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 15,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,081,000 after acquiring an additional 4,872 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In related news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $301.97 per share, with a total value of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $234,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,207,128. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AON shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on AON from $300.00 to $289.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.69.

AON Price Performance

AON traded down $3.35 on Thursday, reaching $280.46. 652,703 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,107,104. The company has a market cap of $60.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $315.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $313.15. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $268.06 and a 52-week high of $347.37.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.86 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.14 billion. AON had a negative return on equity of 1,083.00% and a net margin of 19.04%. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 15.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.16%.

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.