Westpac Banking Corp Trims Stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Westpac Banking Corp lessened its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in AON were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AON by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its holdings in AON by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in AON by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in AON by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Sandy Cove Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AON by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $375.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $81.20 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $391.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $373.59. Aon plc has a one year low of $268.06 and a one year high of $412.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40.

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

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AON. Evercore ISI raised shares of AON from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $407.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on AON from $372.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on AON from $411.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $386.21.

AON Profile

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.