Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Stock Holdings in Aon plc $AON

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,350,069 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 60,273 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in AON were worth $476,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AON by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 70 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in AON in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AON in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in AON in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in AON in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AON opened at $324.73 on Tuesday. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $304.59 and a 1-year high of $381.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $322.01 and a 200-day moving average of $334.77. 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 capitalization of $69.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.72.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued 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 company had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 19.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on AON from $388.00 to $355.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America upgraded AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $398.00 to $397.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $385.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $396.00.

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.