Aon plc $AON Shares Sold by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP trimmed its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 54.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 13,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,516 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in AON were worth $4,686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AON. Silver Lake Advisory LLC bought a new stake in AON in the third quarter valued at about $1,292,000. Callan Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 220.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,752,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP raised 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 acquiring an additional 332,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Factory Mutual Insurance Co. boosted its holdings in AON by 10.9% in the third quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 51,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,186,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $385.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Bank of America raised shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $398.00 to $397.00 in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $408.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Mizuho upgraded AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $397.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $408.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON opened at $335.11 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $339.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $349.06. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $304.59 and a 52-week high of $412.97.

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

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.