National Pension Service Raises Holdings in Aon plc $AON

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its Aon stake by 2% in the second quarter, acquiring 9,349 shares and bringing its holdings to 484,892 shares valued at approximately $160.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.14% of Aon.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with 12 Buy ratings and seven Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $399.12, although some firms recently lowered their targets and one analyst downgraded the stock to Sell.
• Aon’s latest quarterly results narrowly exceeded EPS expectations, reporting $3.81 per share on $4.25 billion in revenue, while the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, equivalent to a 1.1% annualized yield.

National Pension Service raised its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 2.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 484,892 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,349 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.23% of AON worth $160,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AON. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new stake in AON during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in AON during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AON has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of AON from $412.00 to $417.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on AON from $375.00 to $360.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Mizuho decreased their target price on AON from $437.00 to $398.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AON from $396.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut AON from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 6th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $399.12.

Insider Activity at AON

In other AON news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.76, for a total value of $717,744.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 11,504 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,345,751.04. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $327.48 per share, with a total value of $6,549,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 163,000 shares in the company, valued at $53,379,240. The trade was a 13.99% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 4,450 shares of company stock valued at $1,659,242 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

AON Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $307.75 on Friday. Aon plc has a one year low of $303.59 and a one year high of $382.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $351.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $333.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. AON had a return on equity of 42.13% and a net margin of 22.27%.The business's revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Aon plc will post 18.94 EPS for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. AON's payout ratio is presently 18.08%.

AON Company Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk, support workforce strategies and make informed decisions. Its principal activities include commercial risk brokerage, insurance and reinsurance consulting, retirement and investment advisory services, health and benefits consulting, and data- and analytics-based business solutions.

Aon serves businesses, governments, institutional investors and individuals across a broad range of industries and geographies.

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