Avanza Fonder AB Acquires New Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 15,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,052,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of AON by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in AON by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in AON by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 11,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,765,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake 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 last quarter. Finally, Keel Point LLC grew its stake in AON by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Down 4.6%

AON opened at $353.95 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $363.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $373.61. The company has a market cap of $76.43 billion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.86. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $283.27 and a 1 year high of $412.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.83 billion. AON had a return on equity of 70.84% and a net margin of 16.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of AON from $414.00 to $409.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of AON from $396.00 to $416.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of AON from $430.00 to $415.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of AON from $420.00 to $398.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of AON to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $397.27.

AON Company Profile

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.