Bowie Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in Aon plc $AON

Key Points

• Bowie Capital Management increased its stake in Aon plc by 31.0% in Q3 to 356,887 shares (about $127.3M), making AON its 5th largest holding and representing roughly 0.17% of the company.
• Director Lester B. Knight bought 4,000 shares at $319.24 on Feb. 10 while General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares at $325.79 on Feb. 17, with insiders owning about 1.10% of AON.
• AON beat EPS estimates ($4.85 vs. $4.75) but missed revenue expectations ($4.30B vs. $4.38B); analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" and a target price near $408.94.

Bowie Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 31.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 356,887 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 84,446 shares during the quarter. AON makes up 5.5% of Bowie Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Bowie Capital Management LLC owned 0.17% of AON worth $127,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in shares of AON in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Andra AP fonden acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the second quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its position in AON by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,272 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,735,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its position in AON by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,580 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,131,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in AON by 29.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 11,543 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,118,000 after buying an additional 2,618 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $319.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,276,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 143,000 shares in the company, valued at $45,651,320. This trade represents a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 20,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,598,550.66. This trade represents a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AON Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of AON stock opened at $340.49 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $337.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $348.20. The stock has a market cap of $72.95 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $304.59 and a 12 month high of $407.07.

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

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.745 per share. 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 (DPR) is presently 17.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AON. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $436.00 target price on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup raised their price target on AON from $402.00 to $412.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 price objective on AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Mizuho upgraded shares of AON from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $397.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $408.94.

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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