Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Stock Holdings Raised by Farallon Capital Management LLC

Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,832,733 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 126,733 shares during the quarter. AON accounts for approximately 3.3% of Farallon Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Farallon Capital Management LLC owned 0.85% of AON worth $658,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AON by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,237,784 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $444,563,000 after purchasing an additional 31,021 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in AON by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 96,548 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,676,000 after buying an additional 20,942 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC grew its stake in AON by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 255,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $91,859,000 after buying an additional 40,850 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in AON by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 26,533 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,530,000 after buying an additional 1,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 43,000.8% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 390,924 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $140,404,000 after purchasing an additional 390,017 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

AON Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE AON traded up $2.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $355.60. 1,333,175 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,214,395. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $275.07 and a 12-month high of $412.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $376.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $375.52. The firm has a market cap of $76.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.89.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.04 by ($0.37). The company had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.83 billion. AON had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 70.84%. AON's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.66 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be issued a $0.745 dividend. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AON. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of AON from $396.00 to $416.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of AON to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of AON from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $408.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $445.00 price objective on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $391.75.

AON Company 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.