Townsend & Associates Inc Has $727,000 Stock Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Townsend & Associates Inc reduced its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 39 shares during the period. Townsend & Associates Inc’s holdings in AON were worth $727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in AON in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in AON by 2,025.0% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 85 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in AON by 1,162.5% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in AON in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AON in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON opened at $389.51 on Friday. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $268.06 and a 1 year high of $395.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 2.05. The company has a market capitalization of $84.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average of $368.55 and a 200-day moving average of $361.81.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 prior year, the company earned $3.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. AON’s payout ratio is currently 21.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AON news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.68, for a total value of $494,292.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,291.36. This trade represents a 13.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This trade represents a 26.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI raised AON from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $407.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on AON from $411.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on AON from $325.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $386.21.

AON Profile

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.