Victory Capital Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 22.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,595 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 22,597 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in AON were worth $22,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cubic Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,050,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AON by 177.4% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,461 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,372,000 after purchasing an additional 11,806 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AON by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,837 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,203,000. Finally, James Hambro & Partners lifted its holdings in AON by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. James Hambro & Partners now owns 223,865 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $65,137,000 after purchasing an additional 20,239 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $276.61 per share, with a total value of $2,766,100.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 139,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,448,790. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $276.61 per share, with a total value of $2,766,100.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 139,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,448,790. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $234,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,207,128. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805 over the last quarter. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AON has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on AON from $325.00 to $315.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on AON from $300.00 to $289.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group lowered their target price on AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of AON from $378.00 to $345.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $329.69.

AON Stock Performance

AON stock traded up $3.75 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $287.57. 2,354,930 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,159,943. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.90. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $268.06 and a fifty-two week high of $347.37. The firm's 50 day moving average is $312.07 and its 200-day moving average is $311.78.

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

AON Increases Dividend

The business 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 is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. This is a positive change from AON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. AON's payout ratio is presently 21.16%.

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.