C WorldWide Group Holding A S Trims Holdings in Aon plc $AON

Key Points

• C WorldWide Group Holding A S cut its Aon stake by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 85,128 shares and leaving it with 432,180 shares valued at about $152.5 million.
• Aon beat earnings expectations, reporting $6.48 EPS on revenue of $5.03 billion, with revenue up 6.4% year over year and analysts forecasting full-year EPS of 19.04.
• The company raised its dividend to $0.82 per share quarterly from $0.75, while analysts still largely remain constructive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a $397.88 price target.

C WorldWide Group Holding A S decreased its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 432,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 85,128 shares during the quarter. AON makes up 2.7% of C WorldWide Group Holding A S's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. C WorldWide Group Holding A S owned 0.20% of AON worth $152,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AON by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,272 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,978,000 after buying an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of AON by 110.2% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 16,807 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,931,000 after buying an additional 8,810 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AON by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 7,143 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,521,000 after buying an additional 2,248 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AON by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 24,067 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,493,000 after buying an additional 1,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of AON by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

AON Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of AON stock opened at $312.60 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $66.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.16, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.72. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $304.59 and a 52 week high of $381.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $324.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $336.36.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.37 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.97 billion. AON had a net margin of 22.54% and a return on equity of 43.50%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.67 EPS. Analysts predict that Aon plc will post 19.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a positive change from AON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. AON's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of AON from $388.00 to $355.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $408.00 price target on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of AON from $416.00 to $401.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of AON from $406.00 to $396.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AON currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $397.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total transaction of $1,641,981.60. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 20,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,598,550.66. This represents a 19.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lester B. Knight bought 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $319.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,276,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 143,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,651,320. This represents a 2.88% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AON Company 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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