Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Sells 405 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 405 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $2,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AON in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AON in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of AON in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on AON shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of AON from $300.00 to $289.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on AON from $325.00 to $315.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on AON from $326.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.69.

Insider Transactions at AON

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of AON 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 directly owns 3,869 shares in the company, valued at $1,207,128. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lester B. Knight bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $301.97 per share, with a total value of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805 over the last ninety days. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON traded up $4.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $284.72. 2,504,961 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,080,880. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $268.06 and a 52-week high of $347.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $316.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $313.67.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.86 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. AON had a negative return on equity of 1,083.00% and a net margin of 19.04%. AON’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.17 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Aon plc will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.28%.

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.