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

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC cut its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 405 shares during the quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $2,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in AON by 1.1% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,479,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,452,390,000 after buying an additional 50,290 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in AON by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,331,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $678,406,000 after buying an additional 179,238 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in AON by 0.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,244,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $727,844,000 after acquiring an additional 18,500 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,523,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $494,094,000 after purchasing an additional 55,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in AON by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,311,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $425,219,000 after purchasing an additional 7,093 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AON shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of 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 lowered their target price on shares of AON from $300.00 to $289.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. 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. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of AON from $326.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.69.

AON Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of AON traded up $4.35 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $284.72. 2,504,961 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,080,880. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $268.06 and a 12 month high of $347.37. The company has a market capitalization of $56.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $316.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.86 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.14 billion. AON had a negative return on equity of 1,083.00% and a net margin of 19.04%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.17 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Aon plc will post 15.82 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This is a boost from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. AON’s payout ratio is presently 19.28%.

Insider Transactions at AON

In related news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total value of $4,098,380.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,175,613.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of AON stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $234,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,207,128. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total transaction of $4,098,380.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,175,613.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805. Insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

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.