National Pension Service Grows Position in Aon plc $AON

National Pension Service increased its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 2.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 484,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,349 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in AON were worth $160,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in AON in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in AON during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.76, for a total transaction of $717,744.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 11,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,345,751.04. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lester B. Knight bought 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $327.48 per share, for a total transaction of $6,549,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 163,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,379,240. The trade was a 13.99% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 4,450 shares of company stock worth $1,659,242 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AON Stock Performance

AON stock opened at $307.75 on Friday. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $303.59 and a fifty-two week high of $382.34. The company has a market capitalization of $65.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $351.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $333.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. AON had a return on equity of 42.13% and a net margin of 22.27%.The business’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 18.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 18.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AON. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $423.00 target price on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Roth Capital set a $380.00 price target on AON in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of AON from $391.00 to $349.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of AON from $396.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AON presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $399.12.

About AON

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk, support workforce strategies and make informed decisions. Its principal activities include commercial risk brokerage, insurance and reinsurance consulting, retirement and investment advisory services, health and benefits consulting, and data- and analytics-based business solutions.

Aon serves businesses, governments, institutional investors and individuals across a broad range of industries and geographies.