3,464,683 Shares in Aon plc $AON Bought by Dodge & Cox

Dodge & Cox purchased a new stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,464,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,235,437,000. Dodge & Cox owned approximately 1.61% of AON at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Silver Lake Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,292,000. Callan Family Office LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 8,034 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON in the third quarter worth approximately $1,752,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 19.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 7,512 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AON Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE:AON opened at $321.39 on Friday. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $304.59 and a 12 month high of $402.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $334.50 and its 200 day moving average is $346.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.86 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.82.

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

AON Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at AON

In other AON news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 20,254 shares in the company, valued at $6,598,550.66. This trade represents a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lester B. Knight bought 4,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $319.24 per share, with a total value of $1,276,960.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,651,320. This represents a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AON. Bank of America raised AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $398.00 to $397.00 in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Mizuho raised shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $397.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of AON from $410.00 to $416.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 price target on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $408.94.

AON 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.