Aon plc $AON Position Increased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 271.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 290,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 212,037 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $102,428,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AON. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AON by 28.4% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 14,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,246,000 after acquiring an additional 3,253 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of AON by 9.1% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 98,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,992,000 after acquiring an additional 8,216 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of AON by 35.2% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 292,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,249,000 after acquiring an additional 76,061 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of AON by 27.1% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $995,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of AON by 46.1% during the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 40,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,286,000 after acquiring an additional 12,631 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Price Performance

NYSE AON opened at $337.09 on Thursday. 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’s 50-day moving average is $322.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $332.74. The firm has a market cap of $71.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.71. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $304.59 and a fifty-two week high of $381.00.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.37 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. AON had a return on equity of 43.50% and a net margin of 22.54%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.67 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 19.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This is a boost from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AON has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on AON from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays cut their target price on AON from $381.00 to $372.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on AON from $406.00 to $396.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on AON from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AON 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.