Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Lowers Stock Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG cut its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 17.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,611 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in AON were worth $20,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AON. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in AON during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 8,077 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,291.36. This represents a 13.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was 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 approximately $716,121.44. This trade represents a 26.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $387.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $83.74 billion, a PE ratio of 30.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $365.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $358.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $268.06 and a 1 year high of $395.33.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its 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 period last year, the firm posted $3.89 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of AON from $413.00 to $432.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of AON from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective 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. 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 research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $386.21.

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.