Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. Takes Position in Aon plc $AON

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,305,000. AON makes up approximately 1.2% of Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in AON by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 70 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in AON during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in AON during the third quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AON

In other AON news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total transaction of $1,641,981.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 20,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,598,550.66. This trade represents a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $319.24 per share, with a total value of $1,276,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,651,320. The trade was a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AON. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on AON from $433.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Bank of America upgraded shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $398.00 to $397.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. Mizuho raised shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $397.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 target price on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of AON from $402.00 to $412.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AON currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $408.94.

AON Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of AON stock opened at $326.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $69.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $304.59 and a fifty-two week high of $402.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $331.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $344.25.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.10. AON had a net margin of 21.51% and a return on equity of 45.23%. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.745 per share. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.51%.

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.