Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $18.96 Million Stock Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in AON were worth $18,960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AON. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in AON by 1.1% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,479,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,452,390,000 after purchasing an additional 50,290 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in AON by 106,777.0% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,817,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $845,578,000 after purchasing an additional 2,814,643 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in AON by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,331,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $678,406,000 after purchasing an additional 179,238 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in AON by 0.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,244,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $727,844,000 after purchasing an additional 18,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in AON by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,223,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $667,355,000 after purchasing an additional 620,067 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Performance

AON stock opened at $308.70 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $317.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $314.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.21 billion, a PE ratio of 24.74, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.86. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $284.85 and a 52 week high of $347.37.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.07 by ($0.18). AON had a net margin of 19.17% and a negative return on equity of 1,150.40%. The firm had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. AON’s payout ratio is currently 21.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AON. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on AON from $342.00 to $325.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on AON from $306.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. TD Cowen started coverage on AON in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $334.69.

Insider Activity at AON

In other news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Christa Davies sold 20,618 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.40, for a total value of $6,420,445.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 159,570 shares in the company, valued at $49,690,098. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

AON Company 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.