Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Stock Position Boosted by Gitterman Wealth Management LLC

Gitterman Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 71.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 658 shares during the period. AON accounts for 0.2% of Gitterman Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $461,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AON. C WorldWide Group Holding A S lifted its holdings in AON by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S now owns 828,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $241,187,000 after acquiring an additional 54,166 shares during the last quarter. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the fourth quarter valued at about $621,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in AON by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 337,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $98,110,000 after buying an additional 16,214 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in AON by 96.7% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Markel Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AON by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 105,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,659,000 after purchasing an additional 5,800 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AON traded down $20.97 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $285.03. 4,566,608 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 882,672. The firm has a market cap of $56.58 billion, a PE ratio of 22.34, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $317.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $314.06. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $268.06 and a 12 month high of $347.37.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.86 by ($0.20). AON had a net margin of 19.17% and a negative return on equity of 1,150.40%. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 15.82 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen began coverage on AON in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $334.69.

Insider Activity

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Christa Davies sold 40,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.29, for a total value of $12,582,979.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 159,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,991,685.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805. 1.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AON Profile

Aon plc, a professional services firm, provides a range of risk and human capital solutions worldwide. It offers commercial risk solutions, including retail brokerage, specialty solutions, global risk consulting and captives management, and affinity programs; and health solutions, such as health and benefits brokerages, and health care exchanges.