FourThought Financial Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 36 shares during the period. FourThought Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AON in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of AON during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AON in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total value of $4,098,380.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,175,613.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE AON traded down $0.12 on Friday, hitting $279.97. 1,750,917 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,416,371. The company has a market capitalization of $60.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $313.86 and a 200 day moving average of $312.39. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $268.06 and a twelve month high of $347.37.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.86 by ($0.20). AON had a net margin of 19.04% and a negative return on equity of 1,083.00%. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 15.59 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen initiated coverage on AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of AON from $378.00 to $345.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of AON from $300.00 to $289.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AON currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.69.

About AON

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.