Blair William & Co. IL Sells 38,214 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL trimmed its stake in Aon by 6.7%, selling 38,214 shares and leaving it with 529,773 shares worth about $188.9 million (≈0.25% of Aon).
• Other large institutional moves include Norges Bank initiating a stake valued at about $754.7 million and Vanguard adding 511,292 shares to hold ~20.29 million shares (~$7.24 billion); institutional ownership stands near 86.14%.
• Aon has a market cap of about $72.95 billion, a P/E of 20.01, recently beat quarterly EPS estimates ($4.85 vs. $4.75) while slightly missing revenue, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.745 (≈0.9% yield).

Blair William & Co. IL lowered its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 529,773 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 38,214 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL owned 0.25% of AON worth $188,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AON during the 2nd quarter valued at $754,671,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in AON by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,289,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,238,569,000 after purchasing an additional 511,292 shares during the period. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AON by 193.2% during the second quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC now owns 692,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $247,104,000 after buying an additional 456,399 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 92.9% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 889,332 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $317,118,000 after buying an additional 428,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AON in the third quarter valued at approximately $142,986,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $340.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.95 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $304.59 and a 52-week high of $407.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $337.61 and a 200 day moving average of $348.37.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. AON had a return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid 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 currently 17.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 4,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $319.24 per share, with a total value of $1,276,960.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 143,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,651,320. This trade represents a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total value of $1,641,981.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 20,254 shares in the company, valued at $6,598,550.66. This trade represents a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AON. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of AON from $402.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 price objective on AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $408.00 price objective on shares of AON in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $408.94.

About AON

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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