Aon plc $AON Stock: Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Raises Stake

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. grew its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 2,668.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 545,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 526,055 shares during the quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. owned about 0.26% of AON worth $151,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in AON during the 3rd quarter worth about $339,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in shares of AON by 750.6% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 7,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,100,000 after acquiring an additional 6,695 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of AON by 1,891.8% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 545,959 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $151,105,000 after acquiring an additional 518,548 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in shares of AON by 1,074.6% in the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 131,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,533,000 after acquiring an additional 120,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of AON by 1,167.2% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 38,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,767,000 after purchasing an additional 35,833 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AON has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of AON from $412.00 to $362.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of AON from $387.00 to $356.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on AON from $382.00 to $317.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wolfe Research lowered AON from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on AON in a research note on Monday, September 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $435.00 target price for the company. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $369.12.

Insider Transactions at AON

In other AON news, Director Lester Knight acquired 20,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $327.48 per share, with a total value of $6,549,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 163,000 shares in the company, valued at $53,379,240. The trade was a 13.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $333.29 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.72, a quick ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $266.33 and a 1-year high of $382.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $300.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $325.91.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.30 by $0.06. AON had a net margin of 22.24% and a return on equity of 40.46%. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.05 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Aon plc will post 18.49 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 2nd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.96%.

AON Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk and make decisions about their people and finances. Its services include insurance brokerage, risk consulting, reinsurance solutions, employee benefits consulting and retirement and investment advisory services. The company serves businesses and institutions across a broad range of industries and geographies. Aon was formed in 1982 as Ryan Insurance Group and adopted the Aon name in 1987. It is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and operates internationally.