Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Increases Stock Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $13,890,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AON by 262.7% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in AON by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,058,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,989,000 after acquiring an additional 5,727 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in AON by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp grew its holdings in AON by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 5,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,632,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in AON by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,858,000 after acquiring an additional 884 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AON has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of AON from $326.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AON has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $329.69.

Insider Transactions at AON

In other news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $234,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,869 shares in the company, valued at $1,207,128. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Christa Davies sold 40,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.29, for a total transaction of $12,582,979.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 159,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,991,685.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $234,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,207,128. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805. 1.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AON Price Performance

AON traded down $4.54 on Wednesday, reaching $283.81. 1,848,020 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,142,855. The company has a market cap of $61.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.90. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $268.06 and a 52-week high of $347.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $312.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $311.97.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.86 by ($0.20). AON had a negative return on equity of 1,083.00% and a net margin of 19.04%. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. This is a boost from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. AON’s payout ratio is presently 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.