Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Holdings Trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AONFree Report) by 49.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 423,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 405,807 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.21% of AON worth $137,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AON. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in AON by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $191,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 38,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,134,000 after buying an additional 1,788 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of AON by 45.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 15,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,081,000 after buying an additional 4,872 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its position in AON by 78.0% during the third quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in AON by 5.8% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,429,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,529,014,000 after acquiring an additional 243,371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.45% of the company’s stock.

AON Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $316.75 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $305.39 and its 200-day moving average is $317.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 61.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.81 billion, a PE ratio of 25.38, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.86. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $280.89 and a 1-year high of $347.37.

AON (NYSE:AONGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.07 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.36 billion. AON had a net margin of 19.17% and a negative return on equity of 1,150.40%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Aon plc will post 15.77 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 1st were issued a $0.615 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 31st. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. AON’s payout ratio is presently 19.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of AON from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on AON from $342.00 to $325.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $336.36.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on AON

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AON news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total transaction of $4,098,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,175,613.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total transaction of $4,098,380.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,175,613.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805 in the last 90 days. 1.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AON Company Profile

(Free Report)

Aon plc, a professional services firm, provides advisory and solutions to clients focused on risk, retirement, and health 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.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for AON (NYSE:AON)

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