First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Stock Position in Aon plc $AON

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Aon by 1.9% in Q3, buying 10,372 shares to hold 562,977 shares worth about $200.7 million (roughly 0.26% of the company).
• Heavy institutional activity: Norges Bank started a new ~<$754.7 million> position and Vanguard now owns 20.29 million shares (~$7.24 billion), leaving about 86.14% of AON stock held by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Aon recently posted an EPS beat ($4.85 vs. $4.75 est.), has a market cap of $72.95 billion and a P/E of 20.01, and carries an average analyst price target of $408.94 with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 562,977 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,372 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.26% of AON worth $200,746,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Transactions at AON

In other news, 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 sale, the general counsel directly owned 20,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,598,550.66. This trade represents a 19.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 4,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $319.24 per share, with a total value of $1,276,960.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 143,000 shares in the company, valued at $45,651,320. This represents a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AON Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE AON opened at $340.49 on Friday. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $304.59 and a 12-month high of $407.07. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $337.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $348.20. The stock has a market capitalization 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 current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

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

AON Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AON. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 target price on AON in a report 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 research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $385.00 price objective on shares of AON in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $436.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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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