Gabelli Funds LLC Purchases 5,320 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 81.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,320 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $3,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new stake in shares of AON during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in AON in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in AON during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Up 3.9%

NYSE:AON opened at $381.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $81.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $338.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $331.59. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $304.59 and a 52 week high of $382.34.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.37 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. AON had a net margin of 22.54% and a return on equity of 43.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.67 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 19.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. AON’s payout ratio is currently 18.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AON shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of AON from $409.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of AON from $404.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of AON from $389.00 to $426.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut AON from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $404.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $372.05, for a total transaction of $725,497.50. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 13,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,986,958.20. This represents a 12.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AON Company Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that provides a broad suite of risk, retirement and health solutions to corporations, institutions and individuals. The company operates primarily as an insurance broker and risk adviser, helping clients identify, quantify and transfer risk across property, casualty, cyber and other areas. Aon also offers reinsurance brokerage and capital market solutions that connect insurers, reinsurers and corporate buyers.

In addition to traditional brokerage activities, Aon delivers consulting and outsourcing services in areas such as human capital, benefits, and retirement plan design and administration.