Ascent Group LLC Has $2.07 Million Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 215 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $2,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in AON by 255.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,490,000 after acquiring an additional 13,977 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 124.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 5,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,726,000 after buying an additional 2,864 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its position in shares of AON by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 139.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,056,000 after buying an additional 8,035 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on AON. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of AON from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $338.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $344.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $311.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AON presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $362.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $716,121.44. This represents a 26.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.68, for a total transaction of $494,292.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,077 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,291.36. The trade was a 13.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $387.31 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $366.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $331.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The firm has a market cap of $83.76 billion, a PE ratio of 32.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.91. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $268.06 and a 12 month high of $395.33.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. AON’s payout ratio is 22.78%.

AON Company Profile

Aon plc, a professional services firm, provides a range of risk and human capital solutions worldwide. It offers commercial risk solutions, including retail brokerage, specialty solutions, global risk consulting and captives management, and affinity programs; and health solutions, such as health and benefits brokerages, and health care exchanges.