Diversified Trust Co Purchases 1,666 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 15.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,666 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in AON were worth $4,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AON in the fourth quarter valued at about $423,030,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in AON by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 950,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $276,514,000 after purchasing an additional 290,936 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd increased its holdings in AON by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,030,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $299,802,000 after purchasing an additional 273,141 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in AON by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,472,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $428,280,000 after purchasing an additional 182,688 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in AON by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,331,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $678,406,000 after purchasing an additional 179,238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Performance

NYSE AON traded up $1.14 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $294.72. 214,776 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,303,717. The business’s 50-day moving average is $289.64 and its 200-day moving average is $302.36. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $268.06 and a twelve month high of $344.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.91.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.86 by ($0.20). AON had a net margin of 19.04% and a negative return on equity of 1,083.00%. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Aon plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 30th. This is a boost from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 21.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AON shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on AON from $326.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $311.00 price target on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $321.86.

Insider Activity at AON

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $276.61 per share, for a total transaction of $2,766,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 139,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,448,790. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

AON Profile

Aon plc, a professional services firm, provides a range of risk and human capital solutions worldwide. It offers commercial risk solutions, including retail brokerage, specialty solutions, global risk consulting and captives management, and affinity programs; and health solutions, such as health and benefits brokerages, and health care exchanges.