Capital World Investors Grows Holdings in Aon plc $AON

Capital World Investors raised its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,252,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 176,207 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned 0.06% of AON worth $4,323,850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AON by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 70 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AON in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of AON stock opened at $328.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $70.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.05, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $304.59 and a 1-year high of $381.00. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $321.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $333.17.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.37 by $0.11. AON had a net margin of 22.54% and a return on equity of 43.50%. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 19.1 EPS 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 issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. AON’s payout ratio is 16.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on AON. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of AON from $412.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of AON from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of AON from $443.00 to $402.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AON in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $398.00 to $397.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $396.81.

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.