Wesbanco Bank Inc. Lowers Holdings in Aon plc $AON

Wesbanco Bank Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 87.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,952 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AON. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AON by 28.4% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 14,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,246,000 after buying an additional 3,253 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in AON by 9.1% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 98,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,992,000 after buying an additional 8,216 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of AON by 35.2% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 292,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,249,000 after acquiring an additional 76,061 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of AON by 27.1% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $995,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of AON by 46.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 40,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,286,000 after acquiring an additional 12,631 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of AON stock opened at $328.40 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $304.59 and a twelve month high of $381.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $322.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $330.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.37 by $0.11. AON had a return on equity of 43.50% and a net margin of 22.54%.The company had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.67 EPS. AON’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aon plc will post 19.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on AON from $443.00 to $402.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on AON from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Mizuho cut their price objective on AON from $394.00 to $389.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, 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 research note on Monday, June 15th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $394.94.

AON Company 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.