Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Increases Stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its position in shares of AON by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 1,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares during the period. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AON by 71.2% in the fourth quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares during the period. C WorldWide Group Holding A S raised its stake in shares of AON by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S now owns 828,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,187,000 after purchasing an additional 54,166 shares during the last quarter. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON during the fourth quarter worth about $621,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in AON by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 337,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $98,110,000 after buying an additional 16,214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Performance

AON stock opened at $283.55 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $315.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $313.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.90. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $268.06 and a 1 year high of $347.37.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly 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). AON had a negative return on equity of 1,083.00% and a net margin of 19.04%. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Aon plc will post 15.59 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. 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. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were 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 owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,463,980. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Christa Davies sold 20,618 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.40, for a total value of $6,420,445.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 159,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,690,098. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805 in the last 90 days. 1.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AON has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of AON from $378.00 to $345.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of AON from $325.00 to $315.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. TD Cowen began coverage on AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. 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 report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.69.

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.