Essex Financial Services Inc. Has $286,000 Stock Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of AON by 2.2% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 28,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,311,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of AON by 76.8% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 1,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the third quarter worth $242,000. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in shares of AON by 5.8% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of AON by 42.7% in the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $234,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,128. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 3,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,128. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total value of $4,098,380.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,175,613.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805 in the last 90 days. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of AON from $326.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.69.

AON Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of AON stock opened at $279.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $314.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $312.92. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $268.06 and a 12-month high of $347.37.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.86 by ($0.20). AON had a negative return on equity of 1,083.00% and a net margin of 19.04%. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 15.59 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.16%.

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.