Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Takes $6.79 Million Position in Aon plc $AON

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 21,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,785,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AON by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,171,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,117,960,000 after buying an additional 191,658 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,252,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,323,850,000 after acquiring an additional 176,207 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of AON by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,229,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,291,048,000 after acquiring an additional 105,154 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox raised its holdings in AON by 126.6% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 7,852,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,770,975,000 after purchasing an additional 4,387,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AON by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,141,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,810,726,000 after purchasing an additional 28,066 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AON. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on AON from $416.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on AON from $372.00 to $382.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on AON from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of AON from $389.00 to $426.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AON currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $404.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 600 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 15,354 shares in the company, valued at $5,527,440. This trade represents a 3.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AON Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE AON opened at $361.26 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $336.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $331.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $304.59 and a twelve month high of $381.00. The stock has a market cap of $77.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.37 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.97 billion. AON had a net margin of 22.54% and a return on equity of 43.50%. AON’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.67 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 19.09 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.00%.

AON 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.