Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 267,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,893 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $96,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. lifted its stake in AON by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 65,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,784 shares during the period. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AON in the fourth quarter worth about $1,086,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in AON by 503.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 2,284 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AON by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the fourth quarter valued at about $359,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,291.36. The trade was a 13.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,121.44. This trade represents a 26.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AON. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of AON from $325.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of AON from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of AON from $413.00 to $432.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of AON from $411.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $386.21.

AON Stock Performance

AON opened at $390.73 on Wednesday. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $268.06 and a 12-month high of $395.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.50 billion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $366.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $360.21.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share (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 last year, the firm posted $3.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.24 EPS for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. AON’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.33%.

AON 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.