Norden Group LLC Makes New Investment in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 6,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,044,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AON during the 4th quarter worth $423,030,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in AON by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 950,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $276,514,000 after buying an additional 290,936 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its position in shares of AON by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,030,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,802,000 after buying an additional 273,141 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of AON by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,472,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $428,280,000 after buying an additional 182,688 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 179,238 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on AON shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on AON from $289.00 to $287.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of AON from $326.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Bank of America lowered shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $345.00 to $306.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $321.71.

AON Stock Performance

NYSE:AON opened at $294.77 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $288.68 and its 200 day moving average is $302.03. The firm has a market cap of $64.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.10, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.91. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $268.06 and a 52-week high of $344.68.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Aon plc will post 15.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st were paid a $0.675 dividend. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 30th. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In related news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $276.61 per share, with a total value of $2,766,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 139,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,448,790. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AON Company 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.