Aon plc $AON Shares Purchased by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Mesirow Financial Investment Management increased its Aon stake by 1,389.4% in the third quarter, adding 67,510 shares to hold 72,369 shares valued at about $20.03 million.
• Aon director Lester Knight purchased 20,000 shares for approximately $6.55 million, increasing his position by 13.99%.
• Aon beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting EPS of $3.36 and revenue of $4.10 billion; revenue rose 2.6% year over year. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Hold,” with an average price target of $369.12.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 1,389.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 72,369 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 67,510 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in AON were worth $20,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in AON by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 650 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Aspen Grove Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of AON by 4.8% in the first quarter. Aspen Grove Capital LLC now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Novem Group raised its position in shares of AON by 1.0% in the third quarter. Novem Group now owns 3,460 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $958,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AON by 6.2% in the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 651 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RDA Financial Network boosted its stake in AON by 2.9% during the second quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 1,451 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at AON

In related news, Director Lester Knight bought 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 163,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,379,240. This trade represents a 13.99% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AON. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on AON from $412.00 to $362.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Citigroup assumed coverage on AON in a research report on Monday, September 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $435.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on AON from $417.00 to $342.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 12th. Evercore decreased their price objective on shares of AON from $423.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of AON from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $319.00 to $380.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $369.12.

AON Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE AON opened at $336.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $71.34 billion, a PE ratio of 18.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.63. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $266.33 and a 1-year high of $382.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $300.38 and a 200-day moving average of $325.95. The company has a current ratio of 4.72, a quick ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.30 by $0.06. AON had a net margin of 22.24% and a return on equity of 40.46%. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.05 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 18.47 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 2nd will be issued 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%.

About AON

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.

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