Aon plc $AON Shares Sold by Sustainable Growth Advisers LP

Sustainable Growth Advisers LP trimmed its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,221,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 95,897 shares during the quarter. AON comprises 3.0% of Sustainable Growth Advisers LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP owned 0.57% of AON worth $431,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in AON by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,171,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,117,960,000 after acquiring an additional 191,658 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in AON by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,229,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,291,048,000 after acquiring an additional 105,154 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AON by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,141,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,810,726,000 after acquiring an additional 28,066 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox acquired a new stake in AON during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,235,437,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,155,981,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Stock Performance

NYSE AON opened at $320.78 on Tuesday. 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 $68.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $321.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $333.87. 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 (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. AON had a return on equity of 43.50% and a net margin of 22.54%.The firm had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.67 EPS. AON’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Aon plc will post 19.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on AON from $416.00 to $401.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on AON from $443.00 to $402.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on AON from $406.00 to $396.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $385.00 target price on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company 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.