Strs Ohio Increases Stake in Aon plc $AON

Strs Ohio grew its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,226 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in AON were worth $22,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. acquired a new stake in AON during the fourth quarter valued at $4,305,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of AON by 1,640.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 143,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,519,000 after acquiring an additional 134,937 shares in the last quarter. Bowie Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bowie Capital Management LLC now owns 356,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $127,259,000 after acquiring an additional 84,446 shares during the period. Aviva PLC increased its stake in shares of AON by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 333,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $117,669,000 after purchasing an additional 6,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TABR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in AON in the 4th quarter worth about $1,278,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AON has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on AON from $406.00 to $396.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Citigroup increased their target price on AON from $412.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of AON from $381.00 to $372.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of AON from $394.00 to $389.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $394.94.

AON Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of AON opened at $356.89 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $323.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $330.77. Aon plc has a one year low of $304.59 and a one year high of $381.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.71.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 19.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. AON’s payout ratio is 18.00%.

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.