Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Stake Lessened by Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG cut its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 17.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,611 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in AON were worth $20,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 3.3% in the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 3.2% in the third quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its holdings in AON by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AON by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,326,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AON shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of AON from $410.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of AON from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $407.00 to $420.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of AON from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $386.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In related news, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.34, for a total value of $256,321.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,121.44. The trade was a 26.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.68, for a total transaction of $494,292.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,291.36. The trade was a 13.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $387.22 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $365.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $358.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.93. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $268.06 and a 12-month high of $395.33. The company has a quick ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by $0.17. AON had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 70.84%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.33%.

AON Profile

Aon Plc engages in the provision of risk, health, and wealth solutions. It focuses on risk capital including claim management, reinsurance, risk analysis, management, retention, and transfer; and human capital involving analytics, health and benefits, investments, pensions and retirement, talent and rewards, and workplace wellbeing.