Merit Financial Group LLC Has $1.24 Million Stock Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 142.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,022 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $1,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 196.7% in the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,875,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $550,521,000 after purchasing an additional 1,243,200 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AON during the third quarter worth $336,375,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of AON by 41.6% during the third quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 3,010,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,041,623,000 after acquiring an additional 883,761 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in AON by 334.9% in 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. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in AON during the 3rd quarter worth about $906,040,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AON Stock Performance

AON opened at $368.17 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $79.62 billion, a PE ratio of 31.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $368.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $349.90. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $268.06 and a 1 year high of $395.33.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 22.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,121.44. This represents a 26.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.68, for a total transaction of $494,292.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AON. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on AON from $325.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of AON from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $407.00 to $420.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of AON from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $377.00 to $410.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of AON from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AON has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.