SG Americas Securities LLC Lowers Stock Position in Aon plc $AON

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 44.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 78,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 64,247 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $25,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AON. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AON in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,305,000. Bowie Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AON by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bowie Capital Management LLC now owns 356,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $127,259,000 after purchasing an additional 84,446 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its position in AON by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 333,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $117,669,000 after purchasing an additional 6,622 shares during the period. TABR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in AON in the fourth quarter worth $1,278,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in AON by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,251,000 after buying an additional 6,509 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE AON opened at $325.74 on Thursday. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $304.59 and a 1 year high of $381.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.57 billion, a PE ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The business’s 50-day moving average is $322.65 and its 200 day moving average is $331.09.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.37 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. AON had a return on equity of 43.50% and a net margin of 22.54%.AON’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 19.09 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. AON’s payout ratio is 18.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America upgraded AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $398.00 to $397.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on AON from $443.00 to $402.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group decreased their price target on AON from $385.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on AON from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of AON from $406.00 to $396.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $394.94.

AON Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that provides a broad suite of risk, retirement and health solutions to corporations, institutions and individuals. The company operates primarily as an insurance broker and risk adviser, helping clients identify, quantify and transfer risk across property, casualty, cyber and other areas. Aon also offers reinsurance brokerage and capital market solutions that connect insurers, reinsurers and corporate buyers.

In addition to traditional brokerage activities, Aon delivers consulting and outsourcing services in areas such as human capital, benefits, and retirement plan design and administration.