Venture Visionary Partners LLC Sells 123 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Venture Visionary Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 14.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 123 shares during the quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $252,000 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 stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in AON during the second quarter worth $31,000. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of AON during the 1st quarter worth about $2,044,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in AON by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 21,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,056,000 after purchasing an additional 2,624 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in AON by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,661,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,894,053,000 after purchasing an additional 64,500 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in AON by 150.4% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 96,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,326,000 after buying an additional 57,847 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Performance

AON opened at $358.29 on Thursday. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $268.06 and a 52-week high of $363.46. The business’s fifty day moving average is $347.63 and its 200-day moving average is $316.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a current ratio of 2.42. The firm has a market cap of $77.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.92.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.08 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. AON had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 252.81%. AON’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.76 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Aon plc will post 15.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. AON’s payout ratio is 21.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on AON from $344.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $311.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of AON from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on AON from $300.00 to $296.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AON currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $347.06.

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.