Fiduciary Group LLC Decreases Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Fiduciary Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,541 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $7,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cubic Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,050,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in AON by 177.4% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,372,000 after buying an additional 11,806 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter worth about $3,203,000. James Hambro & Partners boosted its position in shares of AON by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. James Hambro & Partners now owns 223,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,137,000 after acquiring an additional 20,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of AON by 45.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 15,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,081,000 after acquiring an additional 4,872 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AON has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on AON from $342.00 to $325.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AON currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $334.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In other news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $301.97 per share, with a total value of $15,098,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,463,980. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,463,980. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total value of $4,098,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,175,613.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805. 1.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON stock 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $317.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $314.06. The firm has a market cap of $56.58 billion, a PE ratio of 22.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.86. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $268.06 and a 1-year high of $347.37.

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

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 21.16%.

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.