Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 660 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $20,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in AON during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in AON in the third quarter valued at about $336,375,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in AON by 150.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 96,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,326,000 after purchasing an additional 57,847 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of AON by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,844,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,059,977,000 after purchasing an additional 32,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of AON by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 165,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,345,000 after buying an additional 20,084 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on AON. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of AON from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $315.00 to $377.00 in a report on Monday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on 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 upped their price objective on AON from $413.00 to $432.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on AON from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on AON from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $362.06.

AON Price Performance

NYSE AON opened at $353.75 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $372.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $339.09. The stock has a market cap of $76.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $268.06 and a 52 week high of $395.33.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.78%.

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.