Crane Advisory LLC Decreases Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Crane Advisory LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 30 shares during the quarter. AON accounts for 0.1% of Crane Advisory LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Crane Advisory LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $587,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 1,162.5% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in AON in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new position in AON in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON opened at $355.02 on Tuesday. Aon plc has a one year low of $268.06 and a one year high of $395.33. The company has a 50-day moving average of $369.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $347.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 2.05. The stock has a market cap of $76.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.96, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.93.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.34, for a total transaction of $256,321.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,121.44. This trade represents a 26.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.68, for a total transaction of $494,292.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,291.36. This represents a 13.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AON. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on AON from $413.00 to $432.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of AON from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $377.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on AON from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on AON from $325.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $370.87.

About AON

Aon Plc engages in the provision of risk, health, and wealth solutions. It focuses on risk capital including claim management, reinsurance, risk analysis, management, retention, and transfer; and human capital involving analytics, health and benefits, investments, pensions and retirement, talent and rewards, and workplace wellbeing.