Ameriprise Financial Inc. Acquires 1,655 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its ownership in Aon plc by 0.2% during the first quarter, holding 925,721 shares worth approximately $369.4 million.
• Aon has received multiple analyst upgrades, including a "strong-buy" rating from Cantor Fitzgerald and a revised price target of $426.00 from Jefferies Financial Group.
• Aon recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.745 per share, culminating in an annualized dividend yield of 0.8% and a payout ratio of 24.96%.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 925,721 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,655 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.43% of AON worth $369,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AON. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in AON during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AON by 54.7% in the first quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC purchased a new stake in AON in the first quarter worth about $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in AON in the first quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in AON in the first quarter worth about $42,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AON Stock Performance

AON stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $369.07. 194,045 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,324,518. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day moving average of $360.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $370.28. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $323.73 and a 12 month high of $412.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

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

AON Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AON. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of AON to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of AON from $411.00 to $421.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $420.00 price target (up previously from $401.00) on shares of AON in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of AON from $414.00 to $409.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of AON from $393.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $412.69.

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.