Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Aon plc $AON

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group increased its stake in Aon by 4,538.5% in Q3, buying an additional 118,047 shares to hold 120,648 shares worth about $43.02 million (≈0.06% of the company).
• Analysts are broadly positive with a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating—14 Buys vs. 5 Holds—and an average price target of roughly $408.94.
• Insider moves were mixed (General Counsel sold 5,040 shares; a director bought 4,000), while Aon posted a quarterly EPS beat of $4.85 versus $4.75 consensus, a slight revenue miss, and declared a $0.745 quarterly dividend (≈0.9% yield).

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 4,538.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 120,648 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 118,047 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned 0.06% of AON worth $43,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Matrix Trust Co grew its stake in shares of AON by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Busey Bank raised its position in shares of AON by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Busey Bank now owns 9,565 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,411,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp raised its position in shares of AON by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 620 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AON by 5.9% in the third quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 615 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in AON by 5.6% in the third quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 636 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 target price on AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Bank of America upgraded AON from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $398.00 to $397.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $408.00 price objective on shares of AON in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of AON from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $397.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $408.94.

Insider Activity at AON

In other AON news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $6,598,550.66. This represents a 19.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $319.24 per share, with a total value of $1,276,960.00. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

AON Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE AON opened at $340.49 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.95 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.82. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $304.59 and a twelve month high of $407.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $337.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $348.02.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.42 EPS. AON's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders 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 currently 17.51%.

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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