Hartline Investment Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Hartline Investment Corp raised its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 28.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares during the period. Hartline Investment Corp’s holdings in AON were worth $2,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC increased its position in AON by 6.2% during the third quarter. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC now owns 876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in AON by 35,650.0% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,855,000 after purchasing an additional 5,704 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AON by 6.2% in the third quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co increased its position in shares of AON by 210.5% in the third quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 2,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norris Perne & French LLP MI increased its position in shares of AON by 6.5% in the third quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 1,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $301.97 per share, with a total value of $15,098,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at $40,463,980. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other AON news, CFO Christa Davies sold 40,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.29, for a total transaction of $12,582,979.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 159,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,991,685.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lester B. Knight bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock traded down $3.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $308.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 849,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 987,101. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $317.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $314.53. Aon plc has a one year low of $284.85 and a one year high of $347.37. The stock has a market cap of $61.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.86.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share 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 firm 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 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aon plc will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AON has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of AON from $306.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $334.69.

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.