Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Aon plc $AON

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 28,340 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned about 0.05% of AON worth $38,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $319.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,276,960.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,651,320. This represents a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total value of $1,641,981.60. Following 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Down 2.2%

AON stock opened at $333.08 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.37 billion, a PE ratio of 19.57, a P/E/G 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 plc has a 12 month low of $304.59 and a 12 month high of $407.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $337.13 and its 200 day moving average is $347.72.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.42 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AON. Bank of America upgraded shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $398.00 to $397.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on AON from $433.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $436.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on AON from $448.00 to $443.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $408.94.

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.