Ninety One North America Inc. Purchases 31,178 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Ninety One North America Inc. boosted its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 21.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 176,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,178 shares during the period. AON comprises approximately 2.5% of Ninety One North America Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $62,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. purchased a new stake in AON during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,305,000. Silver Lake Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of AON in the third quarter worth about $1,292,000. Callan Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of AON by 220.7% in the 3rd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 11,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,163,000 after acquiring an additional 8,034 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,752,000. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP grew its position in AON by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 2,053,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $732,299,000 after acquiring an additional 332,685 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on AON shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on AON from $381.00 to $372.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $385.00 price target on shares of AON in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Bank of America raised shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $398.00 to $397.00 in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $408.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.81.

Insider Activity at AON

In related news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $319.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,276,960.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,651,320. This represents a 2.88% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total value of $1,641,981.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 20,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,598,550.66. The trade was a 19.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:AON opened at $331.89 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $324.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $339.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market cap of $71.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.83. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $304.59 and a 12 month high of $381.00.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.10. AON had a return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. AON’s payout ratio is presently 17.51%.

AON Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that provides a broad suite of risk, retirement and health solutions to corporations, institutions and individuals. The company operates primarily as an insurance broker and risk adviser, helping clients identify, quantify and transfer risk across property, casualty, cyber and other areas. Aon also offers reinsurance brokerage and capital market solutions that connect insurers, reinsurers and corporate buyers.

In addition to traditional brokerage activities, Aon delivers consulting and outsourcing services in areas such as human capital, benefits, and retirement plan design and administration.