Empowered Funds LLC Increases Stock Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 28.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $1,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AON. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AON in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 2,025.0% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 85 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 1,162.5% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of AON in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in AON during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $387.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.74 billion, a PE ratio of 30.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $365.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $359.36. Aon plc has a one year low of $268.06 and a one year high of $395.33.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by $0.17. AON had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 70.84%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.89 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $394.34, for a total value of $256,321.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,816 shares in the company, valued at $716,121.44. This represents a 26.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.68, for a total value of $494,292.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,291.36. This represents a 13.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AON. Barclays raised their target price on shares of AON from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $410.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of AON from $413.00 to $432.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $386.21.

AON Company Profile

Aon Plc engages in the provision of risk, health, and wealth solutions. It focuses on risk capital including claim management, reinsurance, risk analysis, management, retention, and transfer; and human capital involving analytics, health and benefits, investments, pensions and retirement, talent and rewards, and workplace wellbeing.