Polen Capital Management LLC Sells 643,873 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Polen Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 25.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,846,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 643,873 shares during the quarter. AON accounts for about 2.8% of Polen Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Polen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $651,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AON by 28.4% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 14,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,246,000 after purchasing an additional 3,253 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in AON by 9.1% during the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 8,216 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of AON by 35.2% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 292,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,249,000 after acquiring an additional 76,061 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of AON by 27.1% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $995,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of AON by 46.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 40,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,286,000 after acquiring an additional 12,631 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Performance

NYSE AON opened at $335.08 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $322.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $332.66. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $304.59 and a 12-month high of $381.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of $71.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.71.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.37 by $0.11. AON had a net margin of 22.54% and a return on equity of 43.50%. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.67 EPS. AON’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Aon plc will post 19.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AON. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $412.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of AON from $416.00 to $401.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of AON from $443.00 to $402.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of AON from $381.00 to $372.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Thirteen investment 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, AON has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $396.81.

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.