Lester B. Knight Buys 10,000 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Stock

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Director Lester B. Knight purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $276.61 per share, with a total value of $2,766,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 139,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,448,790. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

AON Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AON traded up $2.88 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $288.35. 1,444,961 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,133,670. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $313.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $312.16. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $268.06 and a fifty-two week high of $347.37. The stock has a market cap of $62.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.90.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.86 by ($0.20). AON had a net margin of 19.04% and a negative return on equity of 1,083.00%. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.17 earnings per share. AON’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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 declared 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 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This is a boost from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AON

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in AON by 2.2% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 28,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,311,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in AON by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in AON by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,085,000 after purchasing an additional 5,848 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON during the third quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, Calamos Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in AON by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,143,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AON shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of AON from $300.00 to $289.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of AON from $326.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.69.

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.