Aon plc $AON Shares Purchased by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,119 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned about 0.05% of AON worth $42,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AON during the second quarter worth approximately $754,671,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AON by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,289,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,238,569,000 after purchasing an additional 511,292 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of AON by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,507,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,251,391,000 after buying an additional 473,594 shares in the last quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 193.2% in the second quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC now owns 692,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,104,000 after buying an additional 456,399 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in AON by 92.9% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 889,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $317,118,000 after buying an additional 428,361 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In related news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 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 transaction, the director directly owned 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,651,320. This trade represents a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AON Trading Up 2.1%

AON stock opened at $321.15 on Tuesday. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $304.59 and a 52 week high of $412.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $343.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $351.53.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.10. AON had a return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The company had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on AON shares. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 price target on shares of AON in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $402.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $436.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 price target on AON in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Mizuho set a $398.00 price objective on AON in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AON currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $409.75.

About AON

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.