Aon plc $AON Shares Sold by CIBC Asset Management Inc

CIBC Asset Management Inc lessened its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 44.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 89,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 70,312 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in AON were worth $31,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dodge & Cox acquired a new position in AON during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,235,437,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter valued at $1,155,981,000. Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter worth $504,424,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in AON by 40,219.8% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 846,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,922,000 after buying an additional 844,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its position in shares of AON by 41.6% during the third quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,096,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $747,565,000 after acquiring an additional 615,570 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE AON opened at $315.86 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $321.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $333.40. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $304.59 and a 52-week high of $381.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.71.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. AON had a return on equity of 43.50% and a net margin of 22.54%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.67 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 19.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on AON shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on AON from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Citigroup upped 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. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of AON from $443.00 to $402.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of AON from $416.00 to $401.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $396.81.

AON Company 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.