Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Short Interest Update

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,570,000 shares, an increase of 6.5% from the December 15th total of 4,290,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.5 days. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AON. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on AON from $415.00 to $411.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of AON from $325.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of AON from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of AON from $413.00 to $432.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on AON from $344.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $370.87.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of AON 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,816 shares in the company, valued at $716,121.44. This trade represents a 26.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.68, for a total transaction of $494,292.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,291.36. This trade represents a 13.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in AON by 49.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 36,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,630,000 after buying an additional 12,006 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 25.1% during the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in AON by 43.0% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,021,000 after purchasing an additional 4,122 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in AON by 1.6% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 15,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,542,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 5,232.5% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 208,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,071,000 after purchasing an additional 204,121 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Price Performance

AON stock traded down $2.28 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $365.83. 859,980 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 713,661. AON has a 1 year low of $268.06 and a 1 year high of $395.33. The company has a market capitalization of $79.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $368.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $349.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a current ratio of 2.05.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.78%.

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.