Raymond James & Associates Raises Stock Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 6.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 178,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,193 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in AON were worth $59,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,524,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,519,000 after buying an additional 22,346 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in AON by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,479,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,452,390,000 after purchasing an additional 50,290 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in AON by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,331,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $678,406,000 after buying an additional 179,238 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 0.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,244,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $727,844,000 after buying an additional 18,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in AON by 3.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,523,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $494,094,000 after acquiring an additional 55,703 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AON Price Performance

AON stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $279.97. 1,750,917 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,416,371. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $268.06 and a fifty-two week high of $347.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $313.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $312.59. The company has a market capitalization of $60.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.90.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.86 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.14 billion. AON had a negative return on equity of 1,083.00% and a net margin of 19.04%. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Aon plc will post 15.59 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 21.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AON has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on AON from $378.00 to $345.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of AON from $300.00 to $289.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on AON from $325.00 to $315.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In related news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $234,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,869 shares in the company, valued at $1,207,128. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other AON news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $234,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,207,128. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lester B. Knight bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were purchased 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 $40,463,980. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805. Company insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

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.