Van ECK Associates Corp Takes $12.79 Million Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 35,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,794,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AON. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at about $20,856,000. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in shares of AON by 8.7% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in AON by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 25,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,678,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in AON by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $798,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AON by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AON has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of AON from $413.00 to $432.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on AON from $411.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI upgraded AON from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $407.00 to $420.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on AON from $410.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $386.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of AON stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $394.34, for a total transaction of $256,321.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,121.44. This trade represents a 26.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.68, for a total transaction of $494,292.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,077 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,291.36. This represents a 13.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $387.22 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $365.76 and its 200 day moving average is $359.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.59, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.93. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $268.06 and a 12 month high of $395.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by $0.17. AON had a return on equity of 70.84% and a net margin of 16.91%. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.24 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. AON’s payout ratio is 21.33%.

About AON

Aon Plc engages in the provision of risk, health, and wealth solutions. It focuses on risk capital including claim management, reinsurance, risk analysis, management, retention, and transfer; and human capital involving analytics, health and benefits, investments, pensions and retirement, talent and rewards, and workplace wellbeing.