Van ECK Associates Corp Invests $12.79 Million in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 35,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,794,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 24,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,924,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in AON in the fourth quarter worth $400,000. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas purchased a new stake in AON during the fourth quarter valued at about $222,000. Hartline Investment Corp grew its stake in shares of AON by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Hartline Investment Corp now owns 2,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $988,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of AON by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 10,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,949,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AON

In related news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.68, for a total value of $494,292.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,077 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,291.36. The trade was a 13.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,121.44. This represents a 26.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AON. Barclays raised their price target on AON from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of AON from $413.00 to $432.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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 raised shares of AON from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $407.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on AON from $411.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $386.21.

AON Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:AON opened at $387.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 2.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $365.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $359.36. The company has a market capitalization of $83.74 billion, a PE ratio of 30.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.93. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $268.06 and a 1-year high of $395.33.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share 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 in the prior year, the business earned $3.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.33%.

About AON

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.