Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC Sells 8,887 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lowered its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,887 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $18,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in AON by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 70 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AON during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in AON during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in AON during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AON. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $436.00 price target on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on AON from $379.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 price objective on AON in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 target price on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $385.00 target price on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $408.94.

AON Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $341.10 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $338.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $348.61. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $304.59 and a 1 year high of $407.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.10. AON had a net margin of 21.51% and a return on equity of 45.23%. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.51%.

Insider Activity at AON

In other news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $319.24 per share, with a total value of $1,276,960.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 143,000 shares in the company, valued at $45,651,320. The trade was a 2.88% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total value of $1,641,981.60. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 20,254 shares in the company, valued at $6,598,550.66. This represents a 19.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About AON

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that provides a broad suite of risk, retirement and health solutions to corporations, institutions and individuals. The company operates primarily as an insurance broker and risk adviser, helping clients identify, quantify and transfer risk across property, casualty, cyber and other areas. Aon also offers reinsurance brokerage and capital market solutions that connect insurers, reinsurers and corporate buyers.

In addition to traditional brokerage activities, Aon delivers consulting and outsourcing services in areas such as human capital, benefits, and retirement plan design and administration.