Aon plc $AON Stock Holdings Cut by Mawer Investment Management Ltd.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 928,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 243,131 shares during the quarter. AON comprises 1.9% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in AON were worth $256,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in AON during the third quarter valued at approximately $136,000. Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in AON by 135.5% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 381,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,710,000 after purchasing an additional 219,728 shares in the last quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC increased its stake in AON by 4.0% in the third quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC now owns 30,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,311,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in AON by 553.9% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 37,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,495,000 after purchasing an additional 32,120 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in AON by 1,846.4% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 54,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,067,000 after purchasing an additional 51,643 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AON has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of AON from $382.00 to $317.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wolfe Research cut shares of AON from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of AON from $416.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Raymond James Financial raised AON from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered AON from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $374.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In related news, Director Lester Knight acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was bought 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 directly owned 163,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,379,240. The trade was a 13.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More AON News

Investors following AON have been watching these news items:

• Neutral Sentiment: Aon was appointed to provide professional indemnity insurance for members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. The appointment may support business, though its financial contribution was not specified. Aon appointed to provide PI insurance for RICS members
• Neutral Sentiment: Aon formed Lloyd’s Syndicate 1956 to provide multi-year reinsurance capacity, a strategic expansion whose earnings impact was not detailed. Aon forms Lloyd’s Syndicate 1956
• Neutral Sentiment: Aon reported that disaster losses reached $91 billion amid more billion-dollar events. Greater catastrophe exposure could increase demand for risk and insurance services, but the report’s direct effect on Aon was not specified. Disaster losses hit $91 billion

AON Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of AON traded up $4.86 on Friday, hitting $338.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 611,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,512,922. The company has a quick ratio of 4.72, a current ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $300.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $325.95. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $266.33 and a fifty-two week high of $382.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.63.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.30 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. AON had a return on equity of 40.46% and a net margin of 22.24%. AON’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.05 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 18.44 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 2nd. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 17.96%.

AON Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk and make decisions about their people and finances. Its services include insurance brokerage, risk consulting, reinsurance solutions, employee benefits consulting and retirement and investment advisory services. The company serves businesses and institutions across a broad range of industries and geographies. Aon was formed in 1982 as Ryan Insurance Group and adopted the Aon name in 1987. It is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and operates internationally.