Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 69.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 158,685 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in AON were worth $20,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AON in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AON. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on AON from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on AON from $304.00 to $295.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AON from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $351.00 to $321.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $336.36.

Insider Transactions at AON

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $301.97 per share, with a total value of $15,098,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,463,980. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $301.97 per share, with a total value of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $234,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,207,128. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805. Corporate insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

AON Price Performance

AON stock opened at $333.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 61.66, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s 50-day moving average is $312.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $316.61. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $284.85 and a 1 year high of $347.37.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.07 by ($0.18). AON had a negative return on equity of 1,150.40% and a net margin of 19.17%. The business had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.36 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.89 EPS. AON’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 15.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 1st were given a dividend of $0.615 per share. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 31st. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.71%.

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.