Equitable Trust Co. Sells 3,507 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Equitable Trust Co. cut its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 32.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,507 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in AON were worth $2,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in AON in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in AON by 2,025.0% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 85 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AON by 1,162.5% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Price Performance

AON opened at $385.69 on Tuesday. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $268.06 and a 12-month high of $395.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $365.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $357.42. The company has a market capitalization of $83.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.47, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.93.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by $0.17. AON had a return on equity of 70.84% and a net margin of 16.91%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. AON’s payout ratio is 21.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on AON from $372.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on AON from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI raised AON from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $407.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on AON from $325.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $386.21.

Insider Transactions at AON

In related news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.68, for a total transaction of $494,292.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,077 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,291.36. This represents a 13.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,121.44. This trade represents a 26.36 % 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.

About AON

Aon Plc engages in the provision of risk, health, and wealth solutions. It focuses on risk capital including claim management, reinsurance, risk analysis, management, retention, and transfer; and human capital involving analytics, health and benefits, investments, pensions and retirement, talent and rewards, and workplace wellbeing.