Aon plc $AON Holdings Decreased by Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 37.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 24,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,246 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in AON were worth $8,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. acquired a new position in AON during the fourth quarter worth about $4,305,000. Callan Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of AON by 220.7% in the 3rd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 11,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,163,000 after purchasing an additional 8,034 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in AON during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,752,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its position in AON by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 2,053,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $732,299,000 after acquiring an additional 332,685 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in AON by 64.9% during the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 19,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,808,000 after acquiring an additional 7,512 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AON Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of AON stock opened at $316.29 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $323.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $335.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $304.59 and a twelve month high of $381.00. The company has a market capitalization of $67.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.36, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued 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 business had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Aon plc will post 19.07 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AON. Piper Sandler cut their price target on AON from $388.00 to $355.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on AON from $406.00 to $396.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on AON from $443.00 to $402.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America raised AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $398.00 to $397.00 in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on AON from $381.00 to $372.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AON presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AON news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total value of $1,641,981.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 20,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,598,550.66. The trade was a 19.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.