Xponance Inc. Buys 8,959 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 35.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,959 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $9,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AON during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of AON in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on AON from $304.00 to $295.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on AON from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on AON from $342.00 to $325.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $334.69.

AON Price Performance

NYSE AON traded up $0.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $309.59. The stock had a trading volume of 48,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 984,152. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $284.85 and a 1 year high of $347.37. The stock has a market cap of $61.39 billion, a PE ratio of 24.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $317.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $314.92.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.07 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. AON had a negative return on equity of 1,150.40% and a net margin of 19.17%. AON’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. AON’s payout ratio is presently 21.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $234,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,128. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total value of $4,098,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,175,613.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $234,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,128. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

AON Profile

Aon plc, a professional services firm, provides a range of risk and human capital solutions worldwide. It offers commercial risk solutions, including retail brokerage, specialty solutions, global risk consulting and captives management, and affinity programs; and health solutions, such as health and benefits brokerages, and health care exchanges.