California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Stock Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,077,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,780 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.54% of AON worth $313,568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in AON by 1.1% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 50,290 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of AON by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,331,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $678,406,000 after acquiring an additional 179,238 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in AON by 0.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,244,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $727,844,000 after buying an additional 18,500 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in AON by 3.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,523,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $494,094,000 after buying an additional 55,703 shares during the period. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of AON by 0.5% in the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,311,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $425,219,000 after purchasing an additional 7,093 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $334.69.

AON Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of AON stock traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $311.26. 56,738 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 981,290. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $317.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $314.64. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $284.85 and a 1-year high of $347.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.92, a PEG ratio of 1.88 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.07 by ($0.18). The company 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.89 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This is a boost from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. AON’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.71%.

Insider Activity at AON

In other news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 10,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,175,613.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $301.97 per share, with a total value of $15,098,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at $40,463,980. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total transaction of $4,098,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,175,613.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805 in the last ninety days. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by 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.