Uptick Partners LLC Invests $864,000 in Aon plc $AON

Uptick Partners LLC bought a new stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $864,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AON. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of AON by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AON by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of AON by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $664,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in AON by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $319.24 per share, with a total value of $1,276,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 143,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,651,320. The trade was a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total transaction of $1,641,981.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 20,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,598,550.66. This represents a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AON has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on AON from $402.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on AON from $406.00 to $396.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America raised AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $398.00 to $397.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AON in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of AON from $381.00 to $372.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AON presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.81.

AON Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of AON stock opened at $311.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $66.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $325.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $337.41. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $304.59 and a twelve month high of $381.00.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.10. AON had a return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 18.98 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This is a boost from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.51%.

About AON

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that provides a broad suite of risk, retirement and health solutions to corporations, institutions and individuals. The company operates primarily as an insurance broker and risk adviser, helping clients identify, quantify and transfer risk across property, casualty, cyber and other areas. Aon also offers reinsurance brokerage and capital market solutions that connect insurers, reinsurers and corporate buyers.

In addition to traditional brokerage activities, Aon delivers consulting and outsourcing services in areas such as human capital, benefits, and retirement plan design and administration.