Aon plc $AON Stock Bought by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

Key Points

• State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its Aon stake by 740.2% in the third quarter, adding 192,652 shares for a total of 218,679 shares valued at approximately $60.5 million.
• Institutional investors own 86.14% of Aon’s stock, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $367.59.
• Aon shares recently traded at $288.08, below their 52-week high of $382.34. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, equivalent to a 1.1% annualized yield.

State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 740.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 218,679 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 192,652 shares during the quarter. AON comprises about 0.6% of State of Alaska Department of Revenue's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. State of Alaska Department of Revenue owned approximately 0.10% of AON worth $60,524,000 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 the stock. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its position in AON by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,115,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $746,526,000 after purchasing an additional 19,037 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in AON by 16.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,582,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $510,857,000 after buying an additional 222,092 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in AON by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,502,890 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $485,103,000 after buying an additional 285,549 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in AON by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,253,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $404,709,000 after buying an additional 213,051 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of AON by 74.7% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 797,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $257,391,000 after buying an additional 340,866 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AON. Barclays cut their price target on shares of AON from $382.00 to $317.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $416.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Evercore decreased their price objective on shares of AON from $423.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of AON from $298.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on AON from $412.00 to $362.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $367.59.

AON Price Performance

NYSE:AON traded up $12.73 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $288.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 976,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,525,677. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $266.33 and a twelve month high of $382.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $313.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $326.52. The company has a market capitalization of $61.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.86, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.70.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. AON had a return on equity of 42.13% and a net margin of 22.27%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. AON's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.08%.

Insider Activity at AON

In other news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $327.48 per share, with a total value of $6,549,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 163,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,379,240. This trade represents a 13.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.76, for a total value of $717,744.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 11,504 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,345,751.04. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

AON Company Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk, make better decisions and improve performance. Its services are organized around risk capital and human capital, combining advisory expertise, data, analytics and insurance-related solutions.

The company provides commercial risk brokerage and consulting, reinsurance brokerage, retirement and investment advisory services, health benefits consulting, talent and compensation consulting, and related technology and data products.

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