Diversified Trust Co Boosts Stock Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co's holdings in AON were worth $6,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AON. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in AON by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $695,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of AON by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 15,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,714,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of AON by 109.8% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,929,000 after acquiring an additional 2,810 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in AON by 53.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in AON by 47.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AON has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on AON from $345.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. 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 research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of AON from $325.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded AON from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $363.00.

Insider Activity at AON

In related news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.68, for a total value of $494,292.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,077 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,291.36. This trade represents a 13.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $716,121.44. This represents a 26.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $348.61. 1,110,948 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 823,037. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $371.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $345.39. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $268.06 and a 52-week high of $395.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.39 billion, a PE ratio of 29.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 2.05.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. AON's payout ratio is 22.78%.

About AON

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.