Pinnbrook Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Aon plc $AON

Pinnbrook Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 511,292 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of AON by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,715,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,324,818,000 after acquiring an additional 207,690 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox bought a new position in AON during the third quarter worth $1,235,437,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its stake in AON by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,330,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $830,945,000 after buying an additional 249,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of AON by 1.9% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,176,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $776,326,000 after purchasing an additional 40,213 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Stock Performance

AON stock opened at $321.39 on Friday. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $304.59 and a 1-year 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $334.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $346.57. The firm has a market cap 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 posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. AON had a return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share 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 of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 17.51%.

Insider Activity at AON

In other news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the general counsel directly owned 20,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,598,550.66. This 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 purchased 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $45,651,320. This represents a 2.88% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on AON shares. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $385.00 price target on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Bank of America raised shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $398.00 to $397.00 in a research note on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on AON from $433.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 price objective on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Fourteen 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, the company 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.