Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $72.19 Million Stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc reduced its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 201,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,749 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.09% of AON worth $72,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AON. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AON by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,519,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,010,714,000 after purchasing an additional 88,361 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AON by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,949,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,773,165,000 after buying an additional 627,742 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of AON by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,564,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $921,182,000 after buying an additional 343,592 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of AON by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,329,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $824,498,000 after acquiring an additional 64,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in AON by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,158,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $775,406,000 after acquiring an additional 183,442 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AON opened at $354.10 on Friday. Aon plc has a one year low of $275.07 and a one year high of $412.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $76.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $377.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $375.42.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.04 by ($0.37). AON had a return on equity of 70.84% and a net margin of 16.91%. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. AON’s payout ratio is 25.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Redburn Partners set a $445.00 price target on AON in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of AON from $414.00 to $409.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of AON from $430.00 to $415.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of AON from $410.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on AON from $420.00 to $398.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AON presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $390.67.

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.