HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires 2,242 Shares of Aon plc $AON

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 5.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,242 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $14,608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Silver Lake Advisory LLC bought a new position in AON during the third quarter worth $1,292,000. Callan Family Office LLC grew its holdings in AON by 220.7% during the 3rd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 11,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,163,000 after acquiring an additional 8,034 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,752,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its position in shares of AON by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 2,053,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $732,299,000 after purchasing an additional 332,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its stake in AON by 1.0% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 420,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $149,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,962 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other AON news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total transaction of $1,641,981.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 20,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,598,550.66. This trade represents a 19.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lester B. Knight bought 4,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $319.24 per share, with a total value of $1,276,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,651,320. This represents a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 price target on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of AON from $419.00 to $416.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 target price on AON in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $436.00 price target on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AON currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $409.75.

AON Trading Up 0.3%

AON opened at $325.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $304.59 and a fifty-two week high of $412.97. The company’s 50-day moving average is $341.99 and its 200 day moving average is $350.70.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. AON had a return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.745 per share. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. AON’s payout ratio is currently 17.51%.

AON Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that provides a broad suite of risk, retirement and health solutions to corporations, institutions and individuals. The company operates primarily as an insurance broker and risk adviser, helping clients identify, quantify and transfer risk across property, casualty, cyber and other areas. Aon also offers reinsurance brokerage and capital market solutions that connect insurers, reinsurers and corporate buyers.

In addition to traditional brokerage activities, Aon delivers consulting and outsourcing services in areas such as human capital, benefits, and retirement plan design and administration.