Cwm LLC Decreases Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Cwm LLC cut its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 743 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $1,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in AON by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,479,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,452,390,000 after buying an additional 50,290 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 179,238 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of AON by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,244,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $727,844,000 after acquiring an additional 18,500 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 3.8% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of AON by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,311,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $425,219,000 after acquiring an additional 7,093 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE AON opened at $305.93 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $317.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $314.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.86. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $284.85 and a 12-month high of $347.37.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.07 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. AON had a net margin of 19.17% and a negative return on equity of 1,150.40%. The firm’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 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Aon plc will post 15.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. This is a boost from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AON. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of AON from $342.00 to $325.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AON has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $334.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $301.97 per share, with a total value of $15,098,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $301.97 per share, with a total value of $15,098,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 3,869 shares in the company, valued at $1,207,128. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805 in the last ninety days. 1.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.