WASHINGTON TRUST Co Trims Stock Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co lowered its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 39 shares during the quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in AON were worth $87,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AON during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of AON in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in AON during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in AON in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AON news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total value of $4,098,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,175,613.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 10,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,175,613.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805. 1.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on AON from $342.00 to $325.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $351.00 to $321.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on AON from $304.00 to $295.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on AON from $306.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $336.36.

AON Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $333.59 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $312.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $316.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 61.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.15 billion, a PE ratio of 26.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.86. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $284.85 and a twelve month high of $347.37.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.89 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 15.78 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

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

AON Profile

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.