Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Boosts Stock Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 227.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 31,010 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in AON were worth $12,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AON in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in AON in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AON in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total transaction of $4,098,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,175,613.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total transaction of $4,098,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,175,613.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $276.61 per share, for a total transaction of $2,766,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 139,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,448,790. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.15% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AON. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on AON from $300.00 to $289.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of AON from $325.00 to $315.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. Bank of America decreased their price target 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. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on AON from $326.00 to $312.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $329.69.

AON Price Performance

AON stock traded up $0.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $292.45. 1,498,213 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,907,995. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.90. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $268.06 and a 52-week high of $347.37. The business's 50 day moving average price is $308.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $310.60.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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). AON had a net margin of 19.04% and a negative return on equity of 1,083.00%. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.17 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aon plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st were given a $0.675 dividend. This is an increase from AON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. AON's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.