abrdn plc Purchases 37,825 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

abrdn plc lifted its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 71.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,825 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in AON were worth $26,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of AON by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC now owns 876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in AON by 35,650.0% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,855,000 after acquiring an additional 5,704 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AON by 6.2% during the third quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of AON by 210.5% during the third quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 2,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,905 shares during the period. Finally, Norris Perne & French LLP MI boosted its stake in shares of AON by 6.5% during the third quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 1,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of AON from $342.00 to $325.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of AON from $306.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $334.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $301.97 per share, with a total value of $15,098,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,463,980. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now 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, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of AON stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $234,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,128. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805 in the last three months. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $311.86 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $317.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $314.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.86. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $284.85 and a fifty-two week high of $347.37.

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

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.71%.

AON 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.