State of Alaska Department of Revenue Has $9.55 Million Stock Position in Aon plc $AON

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 27,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,205 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in AON were worth $9,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in AON by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 70 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON during the third quarter worth $35,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of NYSE AON opened at $325.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $325.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $340.28. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $304.59 and a 1 year high of $387.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. AON had a net margin of 21.51% and a return on equity of 45.23%. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 1st. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 17.51%.

Insider Transactions at AON

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 4,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $319.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,276,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,651,320. This represents a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total transaction of $1,641,981.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 20,254 shares in the company, valued at $6,598,550.66. The trade was a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of AON from $402.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, March 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of AON from $406.00 to $396.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AON presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.81.

AON 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.