Aon plc $AON Shares Bought by Independent Franchise Partners LLP

Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,115,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,037 shares during the quarter. AON comprises 4.7% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Independent Franchise Partners LLP’s holdings in AON were worth $746,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in shares of AON in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of AON in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AON in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AON in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AON in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Down 1.3%

AON stock opened at $327.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.71. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $304.59 and a fifty-two week high of $381.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $322.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $332.11.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.37 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. AON had a return on equity of 43.50% and a net margin of 22.54%.AON’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.67 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Aon plc will post 19.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a 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 18.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AON in a report on Monday, March 16th. UBS Group dropped their target price on AON from $385.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on AON from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised 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. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $394.94.

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.