Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Cuts Stake in Aon plc $AON

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management trimmed its stake in Aon by 0.6% in Q4, selling 10,554 shares and now holds 1,812,888 shares (about 0.84%) valued at roughly $624.1 million.
• Aon beat quarterly expectations with $6.48 EPS (vs. $6.37 expected) and $5.03 billion in revenue (+6.4% YoY), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 (annualized $3.28, ~1.0% yield).
• Analysts have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $397.88, and institutional investors own about 86% of the stock (largest holders include Vanguard and State Street).

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,812,888 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,554 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.84% of AON worth $624,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AON by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,171,049 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,117,960,000 after purchasing an additional 191,658 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in AON by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,229,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,291,048,000 after acquiring an additional 105,154 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in AON by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,715,346 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,324,818,000 after acquiring an additional 207,690 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,235,437,000. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AON by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,330,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $830,945,000 after acquiring an additional 249,549 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AON shares. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $436.00 price target on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of AON from $406.00 to $396.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of AON from $381.00 to $372.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on AON from $416.00 to $401.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted 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. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $397.88.

AON Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of AON opened at $314.52 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $325.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $336.84. The company has a market cap of $67.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $304.59 and a twelve month high of $381.00.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $6.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.37 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.03 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.67 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Aon plc will post 19.02 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 4,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the director directly owned 143,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,651,320. This trade represents a 2.88% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total value of $1,641,981.60. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 20,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 currently owned by company insiders.

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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