113,555 Aon plc $AON Shares Bought by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 76,726.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 113,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 113,555 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $31,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AON. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in AON by 11,179.6% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,026,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,114,313,000 after buying an additional 3,990,441 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its stake in shares of AON by 419.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 836,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,638,000 after buying an additional 675,919 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of AON by 74.7% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 797,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $257,391,000 after acquiring an additional 340,866 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in AON by 136.1% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 547,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $176,835,000 after acquiring an additional 315,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in AON by 23.5% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,502,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $485,103,000 after purchasing an additional 285,549 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AON

In related news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $327.48 per share, with a total value of $6,549,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 163,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,379,240. This represents a 13.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.76, for a total value of $717,744.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 11,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,345,751.04. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of AON stock opened at $303.47 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $305.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $325.24. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $266.33 and a 52-week high of $382.34. The firm has a market cap of $64.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.01. AON had a return on equity of 42.13% and a net margin of 22.27%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 18.73 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AON. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, September 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $435.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of AON from $360.00 to $286.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on AON from $375.00 to $401.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on AON from $416.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of AON from $391.00 to $349.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $367.59.

AON Company Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk, make informed decisions and improve workforce outcomes. Its services span commercial risk, health, retirement and investments, and data and analytics.

The company provides insurance brokerage and risk-management services, including coverage placement, claims support, risk transfer and consulting. Through its reinsurance business, Aon also serves insurers and other organizations seeking to manage catastrophe, capital and underwriting risks.

Aon’s human capital offerings include employee benefits consulting, retirement advisory services, talent and compensation consulting, and health and workforce solutions.