Yousif Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 915 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $9,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in AON during the third quarter worth $336,375,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of AON by 150.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 96,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,326,000 after acquiring an additional 57,847 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of AON by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,844,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,059,977,000 after buying an additional 32,417 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in AON by 13.8% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 165,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,345,000 after acquiring an additional 20,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retireful LLC purchased a new stake in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at about $759,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $382.62 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $82.75 billion, a PE ratio of 30.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50 day moving average is $365.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $355.61. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $268.06 and a 52 week high of $395.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by $0.17. AON had a return on equity of 70.84% and a net margin of 16.91%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.89 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Aon plc will post 17.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. AON’s payout ratio is currently 21.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AON. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of AON from $345.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on AON from $411.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI raised AON from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $407.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of AON from $410.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AON has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $386.21.

Insider Transactions at AON

In related news, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.34, for a total value of $256,321.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,121.44. The trade was a 26.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.68, for a total value of $494,292.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,291.36. The trade was a 13.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

About AON

Aon Plc engages in the provision of risk, health, and wealth solutions. It focuses on risk capital including claim management, reinsurance, risk analysis, management, retention, and transfer; and human capital involving analytics, health and benefits, investments, pensions and retirement, talent and rewards, and workplace wellbeing.