Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Makes New Investment in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,279,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of AON during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AON during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AON during the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of AON during the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AON during the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE AON traded up $5.47 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $360.17. The company had a trading volume of 1,176,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,159,020. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $285.35 and a twelve month high of $412.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 1.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.77 billion, a PE ratio of 30.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.86. The stock's 50 day moving average is $359.37 and its 200-day moving average is $371.20.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.04 by ($0.37). AON had a return on equity of 52.71% and a net margin of 15.58%. The company had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.83 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were paid a $0.745 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 1st. This is an increase from AON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. AON's dividend payout ratio is 25.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AON. Evercore ISI cut their target price on AON from $420.00 to $398.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Redburn Partners set a $445.00 price target on AON in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on AON from $414.00 to $409.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised AON from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $408.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised AON to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $397.27.

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.