DnB Asset Management AS Buys 1,493 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,493 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in AON were worth $12,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AON. Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its position in shares of AON by 480.6% during the fourth quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 31,528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,287,000 after purchasing an additional 26,098 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in AON by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 142,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,066,000 after buying an additional 8,399 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 169,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,911,000 after buying an additional 3,852 shares in the last quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AON in the 4th quarter worth about $300,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AON in the 4th quarter worth about $596,665,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AON Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of AON stock opened at $394.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $268.06 and a twelve month high of $412.97. The company has a market cap of $85.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50 day moving average is $388.72 and its 200 day moving average is $372.20.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by $0.17. AON had a return on equity of 70.84% and a net margin of 16.91%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.89 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. AON’s payout ratio is currently 21.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AON has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI upgraded AON from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $407.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on AON from $411.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on AON from $410.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $386.21.

About AON

Aon Plc engages in the provision of risk, health, and wealth solutions. It focuses on risk capital including claim management, reinsurance, risk analysis, management, retention, and transfer; and human capital involving analytics, health and benefits, investments, pensions and retirement, talent and rewards, and workplace wellbeing.