Advisors Capital Management LLC Has $31.87 Million Stock Position in Aon plc $AON

Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 89,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,808 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $31,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AON. Maridea Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at about $234,000. Ingalls & Snyder LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON in the third quarter valued at $400,000. Beirne Wealth Consulting Services LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the third quarter valued at about $926,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of AON by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 6,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,229,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 48.7% in the third quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 31,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,129,000 after acquiring an additional 10,217 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AON

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $319.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,276,960.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 143,000 shares in the company, valued at $45,651,320. The trade was a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $436.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on AON from $433.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 target price on shares of AON in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $409.75.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $325.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.03. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $304.59 and a fifty-two week high of $412.97. The firm has a market cap of $70.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $343.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $351.33.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The company had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

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

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.