Aon plc $AON Stake Increased by Bell Asset Management Ltd

Bell Asset Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 65.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,912 shares during the quarter. AON accounts for about 2.0% of Bell Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in AON were worth $8,929,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in AON in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of AON in the second quarter worth $31,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 56.9% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 91 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in AON by 54.7% in the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on AON shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of AON from $400.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AON from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised AON from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $402.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 price objective on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $379.00 target price (down previously from $420.00) on shares of AON in a report on Thursday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $416.56.

AON Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $353.09 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $349.13 and a 200 day moving average of $357.16. The company has a market cap of $75.89 billion, a PE ratio of 29.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.86. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $323.73 and a 12-month high of $412.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.97 billion. AON had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 50.91%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.88%.

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.