Aon plc $AON is Cryder Capital Partners LLP's 9th Largest Position

Key Points

• Cryder Capital Partners LLP increased its AON stake 27.6% to 295,151 shares, making AON its 9th-largest holding at about 6.2% of the fund and valued at roughly $104.15 million (0.14% of AON).
• Insider activity was mixed: Director Lester B. Knight bought 4,000 shares (~$1.28M) while General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares (~$1.64M), with corporate insiders owning about 1.10% of the stock.
• EPS beat and a payout increase — Aon reported $6.48 EPS versus a $6.37 estimate and $5.03B revenue, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 (annualized $3.28, ~1.0% yield).

Cryder Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 27.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 295,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 63,837 shares during the quarter. AON makes up approximately 6.2% of Cryder Capital Partners LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Cryder Capital Partners LLP owned 0.14% of AON worth $104,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AON by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 70 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the third quarter worth about $37,000. 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 acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $319.24 per share, with a total value of $1,276,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 143,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,651,320. The trade was a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total transaction of $1,641,981.60. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 20,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,598,550.66. This represents a 19.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AON has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $408.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 price target on AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $385.00 price target on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of AON in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $397.88.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $314.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.72. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $304.59 and a 12 month high of $381.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $325.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $336.84.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $6.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.37 by $0.11. AON had a net margin of 22.54% and a return on equity of 43.50%. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.67 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Aon plc will post 19.02 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from AON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. AON's payout ratio is currently 16.36%.

AON Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that provides a broad suite of risk, retirement and health solutions to corporations, institutions and individuals. The company operates primarily as an insurance broker and risk adviser, helping clients identify, quantify and transfer risk across property, casualty, cyber and other areas. Aon also offers reinsurance brokerage and capital market solutions that connect insurers, reinsurers and corporate buyers.

In addition to traditional brokerage activities, Aon delivers consulting and outsourcing services in areas such as human capital, benefits, and retirement plan design and administration.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AON? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.