Tower Bridge Advisors Trims Stake in Aon plc $AON

Key Points

• Tower Bridge Advisors trimmed its Aon stake by 13.1% in Q3, selling 5,328 shares and finishing the quarter with 35,282 shares valued at $12.58 million, about 1.3% of its portfolio (its 20th largest holding).
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $408.94, supported by 14 Buy and 5 Hold ratings and recent price targets in the roughly $379–$448 range.
• Aon beat quarterly EPS estimates ($4.85 vs. $4.75) with revenue up 3.7% year-over-year, pays a $0.745 quarterly dividend (annualized $2.98, 0.9% yield), and experienced insider activity including a director buying 4,000 shares.

Tower Bridge Advisors lessened its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,282 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,328 shares during the period. AON comprises about 1.3% of Tower Bridge Advisors' portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Tower Bridge Advisors' holdings in AON were worth $12,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AON by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 70 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of AON in the second quarter worth $31,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AON in the second quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AON. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 price objective on AON in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of AON from $448.00 to $443.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho upgraded shares of AON from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $397.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on AON from $379.00 to $381.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $408.94.

AON Stock Up 0.6%

AON opened at $341.10 on Thursday. Aon plc has a one year low of $304.59 and a one year high of $407.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.82. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $338.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $348.61.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. AON had a return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The company's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.42 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at AON

In related news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $319.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,276,960.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 143,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,651,320. The trade was a 2.88% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 20,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,598,550.66. The trade was a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AON? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.