Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lessened its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 40.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 84 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $45,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in AON during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of AON by 1,162.5% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in AON during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in AON during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AON shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of AON from $344.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on AON from $325.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised AON from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $377.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of AON from $345.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of AON from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $407.00 to $420.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AON presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $370.87.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $371.39 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $268.06 and a 12 month high of $395.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $366.35 and a 200 day moving average of $354.12. The firm has a market cap of $80.32 billion, a PE ratio of 31.34, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.93.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by $0.17. AON had a net margin of 16.32% and a return on equity of 107.43%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.89 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 15.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AON news, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $394.34, for a total value of $256,321.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 1,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,121.44. This represents a 26.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of AON stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.68, for a total transaction of $494,292.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,291.36. The trade was a 13.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by 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.