Lafayette Investments Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Lafayette Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $1,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AON in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in AON during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:AON traded up $1.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $309.97. 118,548 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 984,935. The business has a 50-day moving average of $317.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $314.92. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $284.85 and a twelve month high of $347.37. The company has a market capitalization of $61.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.86.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.89 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 15.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a $0.675 dividend. This is a boost from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.63%.

Insider Activity

In other AON news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 3,869 shares in the company, valued at $1,207,128. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other AON news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 3,869 shares in the company, valued at $1,207,128. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Christa Davies sold 20,618 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.40, for a total value of $6,420,445.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 159,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,690,098. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805. Corporate insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AON. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on AON from $304.00 to $295.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on AON from $342.00 to $325.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AON has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $334.69.

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.