Czech National Bank Increases Stock Position in Aon plc $AON

Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,374 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in AON were worth $20,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Aviva PLC lifted its stake in shares of AON by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 333,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $117,669,000 after purchasing an additional 6,622 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in AON by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,251,000 after buying an additional 6,509 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in AON by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 67,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,655,000 after buying an additional 5,585 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of AON by 1,864.5% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 343,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $121,304,000 after acquiring an additional 326,256 shares during the period. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,359,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In related news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $372.05, for a total transaction of $725,497.50. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 13,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,986,958.20. This represents a 12.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 4,450 shares of company stock valued at $1,659,242 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Performance

AON stock opened at $357.68 on Friday. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $304.59 and a fifty-two week high of $382.34. The company has a market capitalization of $75.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $345.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $332.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. AON had a return on equity of 42.13% and a net margin of 22.27%.The business’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 19.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. AON’s payout ratio is 18.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AON. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on AON from $406.00 to $419.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Barclays raised their price target on AON from $372.00 to $382.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of AON from $426.00 to $437.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of AON from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $410.75.

AON Company Profile

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.