Insider Buying: Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Director Acquires 10,000 Shares of Stock

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Director Lester B. Knight bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $276.61 per share, for a total transaction of $2,766,100.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 139,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,448,790. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON traded up $2.88 on Tuesday, reaching $288.35. 1,444,961 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,133,670. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $313.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $312.16. The firm has a market cap of $62.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.90. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $268.06 and a 12 month high of $347.37.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.86 by ($0.20). AON had a net margin of 19.04% and a negative return on equity of 1,083.00%. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 15.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a $0.675 dividend. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AON shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of AON from $325.00 to $315.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.69.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AON

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its stake in AON by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Capital Planning Advisors LLC grew its position in AON by 0.3% in the third quarter. Capital Planning Advisors LLC now owns 11,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,824,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its stake in AON by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp lifted its position in AON by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 5,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,766,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AON by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

About AON

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.