Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 1,091 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $5,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of AON in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of AON during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in AON in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on AON from $342.00 to $325.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of AON from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $306.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $334.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In other news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $234,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,869 shares in the company, valued at $1,207,128. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other AON news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $234,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,128. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,175,613.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805. 1.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $310.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $61.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $317.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $314.84. Aon plc has a one year low of $284.85 and a one year high of $347.37.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.07 by ($0.18). The firm 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%. AON’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Aon plc will post 15.82 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This is a positive change 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 is Tuesday, April 30th. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.71%.

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.