Carderock Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Aon plc $AON

Carderock Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 5.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares during the period. AON accounts for about 2.1% of Carderock Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Carderock Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $7,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC lifted its stake in shares of AON by 1.9% during the first quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 1,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $570,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in AON by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,916,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AON by 54.7% in the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in AON by 2.6% in the first quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its position in shares of AON by 0.3% during the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 11,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,765,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AON shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of AON from $411.00 to $421.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “cautious” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Citigroup initiated coverage on AON in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $402.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded AON to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $438.00 target price (up from $436.00) on shares of AON in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $412.69.

AON Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:AON opened at $362.14 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $363.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $368.87. Aon plc has a one year low of $323.73 and a one year high of $412.97. The company has a market capitalization of $78.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.09. AON had a return on equity of 50.91% and a net margin of 15.54%.The company had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. AON’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. AON’s payout ratio is presently 24.96%.

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.