Portside Wealth Group LLC Sells 1,898 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Portside Wealth Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 21.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,898 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $2,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Matrix Trust Co raised its stake in shares of AON by 7.1% during the third quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of AON by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AON by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $558,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Busey Bank increased its position in shares of AON by 0.3% during the third quarter. Busey Bank now owns 9,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,411,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp increased its position in shares of AON by 5.6% during the third quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $326.46 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $327.46 and a 200-day moving average of $341.31. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $304.59 and a 1-year high of $387.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap of $69.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.83.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.42 EPS. AON’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a $0.745 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho upgraded AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $397.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of AON from $448.00 to $443.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on AON from $433.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $385.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $406.69.

AON Company Profile

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.