Howard Capital Management Inc. Makes New $448,000 Investment in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Howard Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $448,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in AON by 2,025.0% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 85 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in AON by 1,162.5% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of AON in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AON during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $394.34, for a total transaction of $256,321.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,121.44. This represents a 26.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AON Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of AON opened at $392.14 on Tuesday. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $268.06 and a 52-week high of $396.15. The company has a quick ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $369.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $362.52. The company has a market capitalization of $84.70 billion, a PE ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.93.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the company earned $3.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. AON’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AON. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of AON from $325.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of AON from $410.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on AON from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on AON from $372.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $386.21.

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.