Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Buys 962 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp raised its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 962 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in AON were worth $3,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AON. Cubic Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter valued at $1,050,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of AON by 177.4% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,372,000 after acquiring an additional 11,806 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of AON in the 4th quarter worth about $3,203,000. Pathstone Family Office LLC increased its stake in AON by 45.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 15,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,081,000 after purchasing an additional 4,872 shares in the last quarter. Finally, James Hambro & Partners increased its stake in AON by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. James Hambro & Partners now owns 223,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,137,000 after purchasing an additional 20,239 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, AON presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $334.69.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AON traded down $3.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $308.83. 782,480 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 986,255. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $284.85 and a twelve month high of $347.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $317.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $314.53.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its 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 negative return on equity of 1,150.40% and a net margin of 19.17%. The firm had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.89 EPS. AON’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In other AON news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the 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 owns 3,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,128. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total transaction of $4,098,380.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,175,613.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $234,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,207,128. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805 in the last quarter. Corporate 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.