Aon plc $AON Stock Position Raised by SG Americas Securities LLC

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its Aon stake by 1,640.4%, adding 134,937 shares to hold 143,163 shares worth about $50.52 million (institutions own ~86.14% of AON).
• Analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a mean price target of $406.69, while major banks recently set targets ranging roughly from $395 to $436.
• Insider activity: Director Lester B. Knight bought 4,000 shares at $319.24 (raising his holdings to 143,000 shares) while General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares; insiders own about 1.10% of the company.

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 1,640.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 143,163 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 134,937 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 0.07% of AON worth $50,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its stake in AON by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 13,186 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,653,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. TABR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AON during the 4th quarter worth $1,278,000. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its holdings in shares of AON by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,856 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of AON by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in AON by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AON has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 target price on AON in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on AON from $433.00 to $406.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $436.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $408.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AON has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $406.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 4,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $319.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,276,960.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 143,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,651,320. The trade was a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total value of $1,641,981.60. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 20,254 shares in the company, valued at $6,598,550.66. The trade was 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 currently owned by company insiders.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $326.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The company has a market cap of $70.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $330.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $343.95. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $304.59 and a fifty-two week high of $402.49.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.10. AON had a net margin of 21.51% and a return on equity of 45.23%. The company had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.42 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.745 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. AON's dividend payout ratio is 17.51%.

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.

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