Main Street Research LLC Sells 65,113 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Main Street Research LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 98.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 65,113 shares during the quarter. Main Street Research LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AON in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in AON in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in AON in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in AON in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AON. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on AON from $342.00 to $325.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group lowered their target price on AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AON has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $335.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In other news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,463,980. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Christa Davies sold 20,618 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.40, for a total transaction of $6,420,445.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 159,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,690,098. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $301.97 per share, with a total value of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AON traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $305.62. 633,492 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 994,709. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $317.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $315.18. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $284.85 and a 12 month high of $347.37.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.07 by ($0.18). AON had a net margin of 19.17% and a negative return on equity of 1,150.40%. The company had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aon plc will post 15.77 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. AON’s payout ratio is 19.71%.

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.