Berkshire Hathaway Inc Cuts Stake in Aon plc $AON

Berkshire Hathaway Inc trimmed its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,602,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 497,005 shares during the quarter. AON comprises about 0.5% of Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s holdings in AON were worth $1,271,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in AON by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,171,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,117,960,000 after purchasing an additional 191,658 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in AON by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,252,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,323,850,000 after purchasing an additional 176,207 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in AON by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,229,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,291,048,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox grew its position in AON by 126.6% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 7,852,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,770,975,000 after purchasing an additional 4,387,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in AON by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,141,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,810,726,000 after purchasing an additional 28,066 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $327.00 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $322.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $332.11. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $304.59 and a twelve month high of $381.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.71.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.67 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 19.09 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a $0.82 dividend. This is a boost from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of AON from $412.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AON in a report on Monday, March 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of AON from $360.00 to $355.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $398.00 to $397.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company 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.