Machina Capital S.A.S. Acquires 9,098 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Machina Capital S.A.S. increased its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 299.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,098 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in AON were worth $4,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AON. Matrix Trust Co lifted its holdings in AON by 7.1% in the third quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AON by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 3,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,157,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Busey Bank boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 0.3% in the third quarter. Busey Bank now owns 9,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,411,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC grew its position in AON by 9.1% during the second quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP increased its holdings in AON by 1.5% during the third quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 2,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $823,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AON has been the subject of several analyst reports. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $408.00 price target on shares of AON in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $436.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of AON from $379.00 to $381.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $409.75.

AON Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:AON opened at $346.68 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $74.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.83. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $323.73 and a twelve month high of $412.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $347.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $353.62.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.10. AON had a return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The company had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.42 earnings per share. AON’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be issued a $0.745 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.51%.

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.