Aon plc $AON Shares Sold by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. decreased its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 25.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,069 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,429 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in AON were worth $4,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in AON by 229.2% in the fourth quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 50,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,740,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in AON by 128.3% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 156,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,139,000 after purchasing an additional 87,799 shares during the last quarter. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new position in AON in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in AON by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas increased its stake in AON by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $398.00 to $397.00 in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of AON from $412.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of AON from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of AON from $394.00 to $389.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AON has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $396.81.

AON Price Performance

AON stock opened at $315.86 on Thursday. Aon plc has a one year low of $304.59 and a one year high of $381.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The business has a fifty day moving average of $321.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $333.40. The company has a market cap of $67.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.71.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its earnings results on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.37 by $0.11. AON had a return on equity of 43.50% and a net margin of 22.54%.The company had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.67 earnings per share. AON’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Aon plc will post 19.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 16.36%.

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.