Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Stake Cut by Natixis Advisors L.P.

Natixis Advisors L.P. reduced its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 462,046 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 46,607 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned 0.23% of AON worth $134,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AON. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $234,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,207,128. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $234,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,207,128. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Christa Davies sold 20,618 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.40, for a total transaction of $6,420,445.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 159,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,690,098. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.15% of the company's stock.

AON Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE:AON traded down $3.77 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $280.04. The company had a trading volume of 1,300,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,115,105. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $268.06 and a 52-week high of $347.37. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $314.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $312.92. The company has a market capitalization of $60.89 billion, a PE ratio of 21.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.90.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.86 by ($0.20). AON had a negative return on equity of 1,083.00% and a net margin of 19.04%. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.17 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 15.59 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This is an increase from AON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. AON's payout ratio is currently 21.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of AON from $378.00 to $345.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of AON from $300.00 to $289.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $329.69.

AON 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.