iSAM Funds UK Ltd Acquires New Position in Aon plc $AON

iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,674,000. AON makes up 1.0% of iSAM Funds UK Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dodge & Cox purchased a new position in AON in the third quarter valued at $1,235,437,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AON during the 2nd quarter worth about $754,671,000. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its position in AON by 41.6% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,096,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $747,565,000 after purchasing an additional 615,570 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AON by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,289,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,238,569,000 after buying an additional 511,292 shares during the period. Finally, Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AON by 193.2% in the 2nd quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC now owns 692,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,104,000 after buying an additional 456,399 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of AON from $433.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of AON from $379.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $408.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $436.00 target price on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $408.94.

AON Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AON opened at $321.39 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $68.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.82. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $304.59 and a twelve month high of $402.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $334.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $346.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

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, 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 analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $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, research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AON news, 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 cost of $319.24 per share, with a total value of $1,276,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director 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. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total transaction of $1,641,981.60. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 20,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,598,550.66. This trade represents a 19.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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.