Moore Capital Management LP Buys 37,475 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Moore Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 25.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 187,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 37,475 shares during the period. AON accounts for 0.8% of Moore Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Moore Capital Management LP owned about 0.09% of AON worth $67,298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its stake in AON by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in shares of AON by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its stake in AON by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,326,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in shares of AON by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AON. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of AON from $396.00 to $416.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of AON from $394.00 to $409.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of AON from $420.00 to $398.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $445.00 price target on shares of AON in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $390.67.

AON Stock Performance

AON opened at $354.10 on Monday. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $275.07 and a 12-month high of $412.97. The stock has a market cap of $76.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $377.50 and a 200-day moving average of $375.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $5.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.04 by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.83 billion. AON had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 70.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.745 per share. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. This is a boost from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 25.38%.

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.