Ethic Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Ethic Inc. grew its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 21,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,303 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $7,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AON by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AON by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of AON by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AON by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,326,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in AON by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE AON opened at $354.10 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $377.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $375.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The company 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. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $275.07 and a 12 month high of $412.97.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 70.84%. The business had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.66 EPS. AON’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AON has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on AON from $420.00 to $398.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reduced 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. Redburn Atlantic raised AON to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on AON from $414.00 to $409.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.