Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Has $2.30 Million Stock Position in Aon plc $AON

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 65.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,571 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $2,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Dodge & Cox acquired a new position in AON during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,235,437,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AON during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,155,981,000. Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new position in AON during the 3rd quarter valued at about $504,424,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in AON by 40,219.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 844,615 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its position in AON by 41.6% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,096,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $747,565,000 after purchasing an additional 615,570 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $315.63 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. The stock has a market cap of $67.41 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $321.71 and a 200-day moving average of $334.14. Aon plc has a one year low of $304.59 and a one year high of $381.00.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.67 EPS. AON’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. 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. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $385.00 target price on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of AON from $412.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Mizuho lowered their price target on AON from $394.00 to $389.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on AON from $381.00 to $372.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.