Empower Advisory Group LLC Purchases New Shares in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Empower Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 682 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in AON by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 13,947,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,397,426,000 after purchasing an additional 210,313 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AON by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,021,085 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,204,600,000 after buying an additional 21,190 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AON by 106,777.0% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,817,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $845,578,000 after buying an additional 2,814,643 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of AON by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,656,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $797,363,000 after acquiring an additional 70,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in AON during the 1st quarter valued at $721,085,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Byron Spruell bought 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $324.57 per share, for a total transaction of $259,656.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,001 shares in the company, valued at $1,298,604.57. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AON has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on AON from $322.00 to $351.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $340.00 target price on shares of AON in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of AON in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $352.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on AON from $325.00 to $322.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $341.55.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $336.16 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $68.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 61.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $329.64 and its 200 day moving average is $323.37. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $266.35 and a 1-year high of $347.37.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.17 billion. AON had a net margin of 20.78% and a negative return on equity of 1,312.86%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.63 EPS. Research analysts predict that Aon plc will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $0.615 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 31st. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. AON’s payout ratio is presently 19.16%.

About AON

Aon plc, a professional services firm, provides advice and solutions to clients focused on risk, retirement, and health worldwide. It offers commercial risk solutions, including retail brokerage, specialty solutions, global risk consulting and captives management, and affinity programs; and health solutions, such as health and benefits brokerages, and health care exchanges.