Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Shares Sold by Beacon Financial Group

Beacon Financial Group reduced its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 106 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group’s holdings in AON were worth $2,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $336,375,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 883,761 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of AON by 334.9% during the 3rd 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 during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in AON in the third quarter worth $906,040,000. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. increased its stake in AON by 5,694.5% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 242,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,883,000 after acquiring an additional 238,258 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Price Performance

AON opened at $384.23 on Wednesday. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $268.06 and a 52 week high of $395.33. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $83.10 billion, a PE ratio of 30.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $365.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $358.04.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by $0.17. AON had a return on equity of 70.84% and a net margin of 16.91%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.89 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.24 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AON. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on AON from $411.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of AON from $413.00 to $432.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI upgraded AON from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $407.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of AON from $372.00 to $384.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $386.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 8,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,291.36. This represents a 13.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,121.44. This represents a 26.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AON Company Profile

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.