Essex Financial Services Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Essex Financial Services Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 96 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in AON during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in AON by 2,025.0% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in AON by 1,162.5% during the third 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 during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in AON during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in AON during the third quarter valued at $42,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Price Performance

AON stock opened at $390.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $84.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 2.05. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $268.06 and a 1 year high of $395.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $365.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $358.67.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $3.89 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.24 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of AON from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $407.00 to $420.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of AON from $372.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of AON from $413.00 to $432.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AON has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $386.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,121.44. The trade was a 26.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 8,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,291.36. This represents 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.

About AON

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.