Aon plc $AON Shares Purchased by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 4,538.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 120,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 118,047 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $43,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Silver Lake Advisory LLC purchased a new position in AON in the third quarter worth approximately $1,292,000. Callan Family Office LLC grew its holdings in AON by 220.7% during the 3rd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 11,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,163,000 after acquiring an additional 8,034 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,752,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of AON by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 2,053,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $732,299,000 after purchasing an additional 332,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of AON by 64.9% during the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 19,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,808,000 after purchasing an additional 7,512 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON opened at $340.49 on Monday. 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 plc has a 1-year low of $304.59 and a 1-year high of $407.07. The stock has a market cap of $72.95 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $337.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $348.02.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.10. AON had a return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The company had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $398.00 to $397.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on AON from $448.00 to $443.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Sunday, February 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on AON from $379.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 target price on AON in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $408.94.

Insider Activity at AON

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $319.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,276,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 143,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,651,320. The trade was a 2.88% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $1,641,981.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 20,254 shares in the company, valued at $6,598,550.66. The trade was a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

AON Company Profile

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.