Balefire LLC Invests $283,000 in Aon plc $AON

Key Points

• Balefire LLC acquired 794 shares of Aon plc, valued at approximately $283,000 during the second quarter, indicating increasing institutional interest in the company's stock.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $414.69 for AON shares, with ratings varying from Strong Buy to Sell, highlighting a generally positive outlook on the stock.
• Aon recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.745 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.8%, which reflects the company’s strong financial performance and commitment to returning capital to shareholders.

Balefire LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 794 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triumph Capital Management grew its stake in shares of AON by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 4,949 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,766,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of AON by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 52,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,111 shares during the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of AON by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 2,811 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in shares of AON by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 14,016 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AON in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,464,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

AON Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:AON traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $352.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 129,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,313,381. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $363.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $366.36. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $323.73 and a 1 year high of $412.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. The firm has a market cap of $75.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.87.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.09. AON had a return on equity of 50.91% and a net margin of 15.54%.The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.745 per share. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. AON's payout ratio is 24.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AON. Citigroup began coverage on AON in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $402.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on AON from $411.00 to $421.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AON from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $400.00 to $426.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $438.00 price target (up from $436.00) on shares of AON in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $420.00 price target (up from $401.00) on shares of AON in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $414.69.

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.