Aon plc $AON Stock: State of Alaska Department of Revenue Boosts Holdings

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 740.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 218,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 192,652 shares during the quarter. AON makes up 0.6% of State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in AON were worth $60,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AON. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its holdings in AON by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,115,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $746,526,000 after purchasing an additional 19,037 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of AON by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,582,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $510,857,000 after buying an additional 222,092 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of AON by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,502,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $485,103,000 after buying an additional 285,549 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of AON by 20.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,253,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $404,709,000 after buying an additional 213,051 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of AON by 74.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 797,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $257,391,000 after buying an additional 340,866 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AON news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the general counsel owned 11,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,345,751.04. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lester Knight acquired 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $327.48 per share, for a total transaction of $6,549,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 163,000 shares in the company, valued at $53,379,240. This represents a 13.99% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Up 4.6%

NYSE AON traded up $12.73 on Thursday, reaching $288.08. The company had a trading volume of 976,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,525,677. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company’s fifty day moving average is $313.65 and its 200 day moving average is $326.52. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $266.33 and a 52-week high of $382.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.70.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.01. AON had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 42.13%. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. AON’s payout ratio is 18.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AON shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of AON from $410.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on AON from $412.00 to $362.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of AON from $416.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AON from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AON currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $367.59.

About AON

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk, make better decisions and improve performance. Its services are organized around risk capital and human capital, combining advisory expertise, data, analytics and insurance-related solutions.

The company provides commercial risk brokerage and consulting, reinsurance brokerage, retirement and investment advisory services, health benefits consulting, talent and compensation consulting, and related technology and data products.