Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Shares Purchased by C WorldWide Group Holding A S

C WorldWide Group Holding A S increased its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 828,764 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 54,166 shares during the quarter. AON makes up about 3.2% of C WorldWide Group Holding A S's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. C WorldWide Group Holding A S owned approximately 0.41% of AON worth $241,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the fourth quarter valued at about $621,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of AON by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 337,172 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $98,110,000 after buying an additional 16,214 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of AON by 96.7% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 238 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AON by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 105,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,659,000 after acquiring an additional 5,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in AON in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,460,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on AON shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on AON from $342.00 to $325.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on AON from $306.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $334.69.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $234,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,869 shares in the company, valued at $1,207,128. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $234,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,869 shares in the company, valued at $1,207,128. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total value of $4,098,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,175,613.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.15% of the company's stock.

AON Trading Down 6.9 %

NYSE:AON traded down $20.97 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $285.03. 4,566,608 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 882,672. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $268.06 and a 52-week high of $347.37. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $317.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $314.06. The company has a market cap of $56.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.86.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.86 by ($0.20). AON had a negative return on equity of 1,150.40% and a net margin of 19.17%. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.17 earnings per share. AON's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Aon plc will post 15.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This is a positive change from AON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. AON's payout ratio is 19.71%.

About AON

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.