Lincoln National Corp Acquires 162 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Lincoln National Corp boosted its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in AON were worth $1,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AON. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in AON in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AON. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on AON from $325.00 to $315.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.69.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $287.85. 215,111 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,124,051. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $268.06 and a 12 month high of $347.37. The stock has a market cap of $62.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $312.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $311.97.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.86 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.14 billion. AON had a net margin of 19.04% and a negative return on equity of 1,083.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.17 EPS. Research analysts predict that Aon plc will post 15.59 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors 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. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 21.16%.

Insider Activity at AON

In other news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $234,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,128. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total transaction of $4,098,380.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,175,613.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $234,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,207,128. 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 over the last quarter. 1.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.