30,602 Aon plc $AON Shares Purchased by 71 West Capital Partners

Key Points

• 71 West Capital Partners increased its Aon stake by 1,624.3% in the third quarter, buying 30,602 shares to hold 32,486 shares valued at about $8.99 million.
• Aon reported quarterly EPS of $3.36, above analysts’ $3.30 estimate, while revenue rose 2.6% year over year to $4.10 billion. It also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share.
• Analyst views were mixed: MarketBeat reported a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $369.12. Director Lester Knight also bought 20,000 shares for about $6.55 million.

71 West Capital Partners lifted its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 1,624.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 30,602 shares during the period. 71 West Capital Partners' holdings in AON were worth $8,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in AON by 11,179.6% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,026,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,114,313,000 after purchasing an additional 3,990,441 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in shares of AON by 2,986.4% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,384,829 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $383,279,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339,960 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its holdings in AON by 419.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 836,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $231,638,000 after acquiring an additional 675,919 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in AON by 74.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 797,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $257,391,000 after acquiring an additional 340,866 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in AON by 754.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 380,635 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $105,348,000 after acquiring an additional 336,085 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In other AON news, Director Lester Knight bought 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $327.48 per share, with a total value of $6,549,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 163,000 shares in the company, valued at $53,379,240. This trade represents a 13.99% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

AON Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of AON stock opened at $335.99 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.72, a quick ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.63. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $266.33 and a 12-month high of $382.34. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $300.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $325.95.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.30 by $0.06. AON had a return on equity of 40.46% and a net margin of 22.24%. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.05 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Aon plc will post 18.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. AON's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on AON from $323.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on AON from $375.00 to $401.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial raised AON from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded AON from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of AON from $417.00 to $342.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 12th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $369.12.

AON Company Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk and make decisions about their people and finances. Its services include insurance brokerage, risk consulting, reinsurance solutions, employee benefits consulting and retirement and investment advisory services.

The company serves businesses and institutions across a broad range of industries and geographies. Aon was formed in 1982 as Ryan Insurance Group and adopted the Aon name in 1987. It is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and operates internationally.

Greg Case has served as Aon's chief executive officer since 2005.

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