Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,172 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 42.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,172 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SVB Wealth LLC raised its position in AON by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 2,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC raised its position in AON by 109.9% during the 4th quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 2,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $716,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in AON by 8.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in AON by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 3,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,524,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AON. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on AON from $304.00 to $295.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on AON from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group dropped their price target on AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on AON from $306.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $335.36.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON opened at $304.79 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $317.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $314.96. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $284.85 and a 1 year high of $347.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.44 billion, a PE ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.86.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $3.89 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 business had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.89 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aon plc will post 15.82 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a $0.675 dividend. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $1,207,128. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $301.97 per share, with a total value of $15,098,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,463,980. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of AON stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $234,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,207,128. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.