GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Acquires 264 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $9,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in AON during the 3rd quarter valued at about $336,375,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP increased its position in shares of AON by 41.6% during the third quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 3,010,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,041,623,000 after acquiring an additional 883,761 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of AON by 334.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,050,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $363,475,000 after acquiring an additional 808,990 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON in the third quarter valued at approximately $906,040,000. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. increased its holdings in AON by 5,694.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 242,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,883,000 after purchasing an additional 238,258 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on AON from $411.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of AON from $345.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on AON from $344.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $386.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 1,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,121.44. This represents a 26.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $382.62 on Thursday. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $268.06 and a fifty-two week high of $395.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.22, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $365.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $355.80.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business posted $3.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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.