Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Boosts Stake in Aon plc $AON

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 5.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 121,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,894 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in AON were worth $43,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AON during the 2nd quarter worth about $754,671,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 2.6% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,289,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,238,569,000 after purchasing an additional 511,292 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in AON by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,507,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,251,391,000 after buying an additional 473,594 shares during the period. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AON by 193.2% in the 2nd quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC now owns 692,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,104,000 after buying an additional 456,399 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in AON by 92.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 889,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $317,118,000 after acquiring an additional 428,361 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Up 0.8%

AON stock opened at $338.56 on Monday. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $323.73 and a 52-week high of $412.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The firm has a market cap of $72.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $348.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $354.33.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.97 billion. AON had a return on equity of 48.88% and a net margin of 15.96%.AON’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.72 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.745 per share. 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 23.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AON. Citigroup upgraded shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $402.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of AON from $410.00 to $416.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on AON from $400.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on AON from $419.00 to $416.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $408.47.

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.