Aon plc $AON Stock Bought by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 2,986.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,384,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,339,960 shares during the quarter. AON makes up approximately 1.1% of Retirement Systems of Alabama’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in AON were worth $383,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. StoneRidge PMG Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AON during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,699,000. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of AON by 256.7% in the 3rd quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,920,000 after purchasing an additional 7,592 shares during the period. Avion Wealth lifted its position in shares of AON by 3,061.3% in the 3rd quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 949 shares during the period. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. boosted its stake in shares of AON by 373.1% in the 3rd quarter. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. now owns 9,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,713,000 after purchasing an additional 7,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of AON by 754.3% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 92,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,566,000 after purchasing an additional 81,559 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Price Performance

AON stock opened at $335.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.63. 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 2.58, a quick ratio of 4.72 and a current ratio of 4.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $300.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $325.95.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.30 by $0.06. AON had a net margin of 22.24% and a return on equity of 40.46%. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.05 EPS. AON’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Aon plc will post 18.47 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of AON from $391.00 to $349.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of AON from $298.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of AON from $417.00 to $342.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on AON from $375.00 to $401.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on AON from $382.00 to $317.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $369.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lester Knight purchased 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $327.48 per share, with a total value of $6,549,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 163,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,379,240. This trade represents a 13.99% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

About AON

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk and make decisions about their people and finances. Its services include insurance brokerage, risk consulting, reinsurance solutions, employee benefits consulting and retirement and investment advisory services.

The company serves businesses and institutions across a broad range of industries and geographies. Aon was formed in 1982 as Ryan Insurance Group and adopted the Aon name in 1987. It is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and operates internationally.

Greg Case has served as Aon’s chief executive officer since 2005.