Aon plc $AON Holdings Boosted by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Aon holdings by 2,197.1% in the second quarter, acquiring 180,601 additional shares. Institutional investors and hedge funds now own 86.14% of Aon’s outstanding stock.
• Aon reported quarterly EPS of $3.81, slightly exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue rose 2.2% year over year to $4.25 billion but fell short of estimates. The company maintains solid profitability, with a 22.27% net margin and 42.13% return on equity.
• Analysts assign Aon a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $410.75, above its reported $357.68 share price. Aon also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, representing a 0.9% annualized yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 2,197.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 188,821 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 180,601 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.09% of AON worth $62,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in AON in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in AON in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in AON in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in AON during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in AON in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Stock Performance

AON opened at $357.68 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $75.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.69. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $304.59 and a 1 year high of $382.34. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $345.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $332.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. AON had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 42.13%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 19.06 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. AON's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AON has been the topic of several analyst reports. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $420.00 price target on shares of AON in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of AON from $377.00 to $391.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on AON from $383.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on AON from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AON from $396.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $410.75.

Insider Activity at AON

In related news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,950 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $372.05, for a total transaction of $725,497.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 13,404 shares in the company, valued at $4,986,958.20. This trade represents a 12.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,450 shares of company stock worth $1,659,242. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AON Profile

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.

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