abrdn plc Has $26.43 Million Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

abrdn plc grew its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 71.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 37,825 shares during the period. abrdn plc's holdings in AON were worth $26,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AON. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of AON by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 906 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of AON by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 6,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,906,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AON by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of AON by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 33,972 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,887,000 after purchasing an additional 8,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tilt Investment Management Holdings PBC acquired a new position in shares of AON during the fourth quarter worth $254,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

AON Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE AON traded down $3.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $308.83. 849,268 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 987,101. The company has a market cap of $61.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.86. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $284.85 and a 12-month high of $347.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $317.78 and a 200 day moving average of $314.53.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.07 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.36 billion. AON had a negative return on equity of 1,150.40% and a net margin of 19.17%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. This is a boost from AON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. AON's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of AON from $306.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AON currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $334.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 134,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,463,980. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Christa Davies sold 40,164 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.29, for a total transaction of $12,582,979.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 159,570 shares in the company, valued at $49,991,685.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805. 1.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AON Company Profile

Aon plc, a professional services firm, provides a range of risk and human capital solutions worldwide. It offers commercial risk solutions, including retail brokerage, specialty solutions, global risk consulting and captives management, and affinity programs; and health solutions, such as health and benefits brokerages, and health care exchanges.