HF Advisory Group LLC Increases Position in Aon plc $AON

HF Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 392.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,899 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $1,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AON. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of AON during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AON in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in AON during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AON during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON opened at $357.68 on Friday. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $304.59 and a 52-week high of $382.34. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $345.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $332.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.69.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.01. AON had a return on equity of 42.13% and a net margin of 22.27%.The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 19.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 18.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AON news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.76, for a total value of $717,744.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 11,504 shares in the company, valued at $4,345,751.04. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,450 shares of company stock worth $1,659,242. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on AON shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AON from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of AON from $400.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of AON from $396.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Citigroup upped their price objective on AON from $420.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $420.00 price objective on shares of AON in a report on Friday, July 31st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $410.75.

About AON

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.