Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Director Purchases $2,766,100.00 in Stock

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Director Lester B. Knight purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $276.61 per share, for a total transaction of $2,766,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 139,000 shares in the company, valued at $38,448,790. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

AON Trading Down 1.6 %

AON stock opened at $283.81 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $61.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $312.74 and its 200-day moving average is $311.97. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $268.06 and a 12 month high of $347.37.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.17 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Aon plc will post 15.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. AON’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on AON shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of AON from $326.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $329.69.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AON

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in AON by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 28,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,311,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in AON by 9.9% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,085,000 after purchasing an additional 5,848 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in AON during the third quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, Calamos Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in AON by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,143,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Company 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.