Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Shares Sold by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 276 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $767,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of AON by 3.9% during the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in AON by 5.5% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in AON by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in AON by 4.0% during the second quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,036 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in AON by 11.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AON has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $309.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of AON from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $313.00 to $380.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $353.00 to $379.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AON currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $337.27.

AON Stock Down 1.8 %

AON stock opened at $344.80 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $323.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $309.78. The company has a quick ratio of 2.42, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $268.06 and a 52 week high of $352.49.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.08 by ($0.15). AON had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 252.81%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 15.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.16%.

About AON

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.