15,994 Aon plc $AON Shares Purchased by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 1,585.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 17,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,994 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $4,706,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of AON by 11,179.6% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,026,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,114,313,000 after purchasing an additional 3,990,441 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of AON by 16.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,582,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $510,857,000 after purchasing an additional 222,092 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 23.5% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,502,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $485,103,000 after purchasing an additional 285,549 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 20.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,253,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $404,709,000 after purchasing an additional 213,051 shares during the period. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd grew its position in AON by 419.8% during the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 836,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,638,000 after purchasing an additional 675,919 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In related news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.76, for a total value of $717,744.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 11,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,345,751.04. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $327.48 per share, with a total value of $6,549,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 163,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,379,240. This represents a 13.99% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on AON shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of AON from $375.00 to $401.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of AON from $298.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Evercore lowered their price target on shares of AON from $423.00 to $375.00 in a report on Thursday, October 8th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of AON from $416.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on AON from $417.00 to $342.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 12th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AON has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $367.59.

AON Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of AON stock opened at $303.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $64.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $305.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $325.24. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $266.33 and a 52-week high of $382.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.54.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.01. The firm 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 firm’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 18.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

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

AON Company Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk, make informed decisions and improve workforce outcomes. Its services span commercial risk, health, retirement and investments, and data and analytics.

The company provides insurance brokerage and risk-management services, including coverage placement, claims support, risk transfer and consulting. Through its reinsurance business, Aon also serves insurers and other organizations seeking to manage catastrophe, capital and underwriting risks.

Aon’s human capital offerings include employee benefits consulting, retirement advisory services, talent and compensation consulting, and health and workforce solutions.