Aon plc $AON is Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s 7th Largest Position

Weitz Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 218,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,285 shares during the period. AON accounts for approximately 4.6% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Weitz Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.10% of AON worth $77,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AON. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AON during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,305,000. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in AON during the third quarter worth $1,752,000. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. lifted its stake in shares of AON by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 51,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,186,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Warner Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,341,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,070,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Performance

NYSE AON opened at $335.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $304.59 and a 1 year high of $381.00. The company has a market capitalization of $71.57 billion, a PE ratio of 18.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a fifty day moving average of $322.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $332.66.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.37 by $0.11. AON had a net margin of 22.54% and a return on equity of 43.50%. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.67 earnings per share. AON’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Aon plc will post 19.1 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AON. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of AON from $394.00 to $389.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of AON from $406.00 to $396.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America upgraded shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $398.00 to $397.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of AON from $443.00 to $402.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AON presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $396.81.

About AON

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.