Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Stake Decreased by Motley Fool Asset Management LLC

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 33,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 432 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $9,708,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AON during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AON during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in AON during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in AON in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AON in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON stock traded down $2.90 on Thursday, hitting $305.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,365,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 991,828. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $284.85 and a fifty-two week high of $347.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $317.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $314.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.86.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.07 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.36 billion. AON had a negative return on equity of 1,150.40% and a net margin of 19.17%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.89 EPS. Analysts predict that Aon plc will post 15.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. AON’s payout ratio is currently 19.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AON news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 10,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,175,613.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 10,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,175,613.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,128. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of AON from $342.00 to $325.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $334.69.

AON Company 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.