Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Reduces Position in Aon plc $AON

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC decreased its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 55.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 40,787 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $11,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AON. Dodge & Cox bought a new position in AON during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,235,437,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AON during the 2nd quarter valued at $754,671,000. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new position in shares of AON during the 3rd quarter valued at $504,424,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of AON by 40,219.8% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 846,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,922,000 after buying an additional 844,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of AON by 41.6% in the third quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,096,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $747,565,000 after acquiring an additional 615,570 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AON in a report on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Mizuho upgraded shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $397.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 target price on AON in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AON currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $406.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 4,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director owned 143,000 shares in the company, valued at $45,651,320. The trade was a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total transaction of $1,641,981.60. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 20,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,598,550.66. This represents a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AON Price Performance

NYSE:AON opened at $323.16 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $329.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $343.65. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $304.59 and a 52 week high of $402.49. The stock has a market cap of $69.24 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. AON had a return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

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

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.