Aon plc $AON Stake Reduced by Mawer Investment Management Ltd.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lowered its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 40.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,477,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,020,396 shares during the period. AON makes up approximately 2.9% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in AON were worth $521,448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cercano Management LLC acquired a new position in AON in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,711,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its holdings in AON by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 9,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,509,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in AON by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc lifted its holdings in AON by 1,220.8% in the fourth quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 54,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,236,000 after acquiring an additional 50,384 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in AON by 78.3% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 422,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $148,938,000 after acquiring an additional 185,296 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of AON stock opened at $320.78 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $68.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $321.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $333.87. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $304.59 and a 1-year high of $381.00.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.67 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $398.00 to $397.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target on AON from $381.00 to $372.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on AON from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AON in a report on Monday, March 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $396.81.

AON Profile

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.