Aon plc $AON Shares Sold by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 71.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,262 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in AON were worth $595,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Matrix Trust Co boosted its stake in AON by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Busey Bank raised its holdings in shares of AON by 0.3% in the third quarter. Busey Bank now owns 9,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,411,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp raised its holdings in shares of AON by 5.6% in the third quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AON by 5.9% during the third quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AON by 5.6% during the third quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In related news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 4,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $319.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,276,960.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,651,320. This trade represents a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total transaction of $1,641,981.60. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 20,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,598,550.66. This represents a 19.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AON Stock Performance

NYSE AON opened at $333.08 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50 day moving average is $337.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $347.72. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $304.59 and a 12-month high of $407.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.10. AON had a return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The business had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.42 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.745 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AON. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $408.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Bank of America upgraded AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $398.00 to $397.00 in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on AON from $402.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $408.94.

About AON

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that provides a broad suite of risk, retirement and health solutions to corporations, institutions and individuals. The company operates primarily as an insurance broker and risk adviser, helping clients identify, quantify and transfer risk across property, casualty, cyber and other areas. Aon also offers reinsurance brokerage and capital market solutions that connect insurers, reinsurers and corporate buyers.

In addition to traditional brokerage activities, Aon delivers consulting and outsourcing services in areas such as human capital, benefits, and retirement plan design and administration.