Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Holdings Reduced by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 46,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 633 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in AON were worth $16,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at about $336,375,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 41.6% in the third quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 3,010,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,041,623,000 after acquiring an additional 883,761 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in AON by 334.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,050,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $363,475,000 after purchasing an additional 808,990 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in AON during the 3rd quarter valued at $906,040,000. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. increased its position in shares of AON by 5,694.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 242,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,883,000 after purchasing an additional 238,258 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.68, for a total value of $494,292.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,291.36. The trade was a 13.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was 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 owns 1,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,121.44. The trade was a 26.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON opened at $384.67 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.19 billion, a PE ratio of 30.38, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $365.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $355.80. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $268.06 and a 52 week high of $395.33.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by $0.17. AON had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 70.84%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.89 EPS. Research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AON. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on AON from $325.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of AON from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $407.00 to $420.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on AON from $413.00 to $432.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AON presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $386.21.

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.