WCM Investment Management LLC Sells 1,439,806 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

WCM Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 41.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,045,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,439,806 shares during the quarter. AON accounts for 1.7% of WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $732,327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in AON by 2,025.0% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 85 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in AON by 1,162.5% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in AON during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in AON during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of AON from $413.00 to $432.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of AON from $325.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of AON from $410.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AON presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $386.21.

AON Price Performance

NYSE AON opened at $386.68 on Friday. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $268.06 and a 12 month high of $395.33. The stock has a market cap of $83.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.54, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50 day moving average is $365.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $356.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by $0.17. AON had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 70.84%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.89 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.24 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. AON’s payout ratio is 21.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.34, for a total transaction of $256,321.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,816 shares in the company, valued at $716,121.44. This trade represents a 26.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.68, for a total transaction of $494,292.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,291.36. The trade was a 13.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

AON Company 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.