Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Short Interest Down 10.4% in December

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,290,000 shares, a decrease of 10.4% from the November 30th total of 4,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

AON Stock Up 0.3 %

AON stock traded up $1.19 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $359.16. The stock had a trading volume of 522,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,154,647. AON has a one year low of $268.06 and a one year high of $395.33. The company’s 50 day moving average is $372.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $343.92. The company has a quick ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The company has a market capitalization of $77.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.91.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $394.34, for a total value of $256,321.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,121.44. This represents a 26.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.68, for a total value of $494,292.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,291.36. This trade represents a 13.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in AON in the third quarter worth about $79,390,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in AON by 24.2% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in AON during the third quarter valued at $1,959,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON in the third quarter valued at $275,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AON by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 19,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,749,000 after buying an additional 2,432 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of AON from $325.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on AON from $413.00 to $432.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on AON from $338.00 to $384.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of AON from $345.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of AON from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Monday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $362.06.

About AON

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.