Aon plc $AON Position Reduced by Independent Franchise Partners LLP

Key Points

• Independent Franchise Partners LLP reduced its position in Aon plc by 21.5%, selling 433,751 shares and now holds 1,583,221 shares, which accounts for 4.5% of its portfolio.
• Several hedge funds have increased their stakes in Aon, with notable increases including Hsbc Holdings PLC by 117.9% and Hancock Whitney Corp by 105.3% in the last quarter.
• Aon recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $3.49 for the quarter, exceeding analyst estimates as its revenue rose 10.5% year-over-year.

Independent Franchise Partners LLP cut its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 21.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,583,221 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 433,751 shares during the quarter. AON accounts for 4.5% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned about 0.73% of AON worth $631,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AON. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of AON by 117.9% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 104,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,231,000 after purchasing an additional 56,314 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC increased its holdings in shares of AON by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 2,697 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $969,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of AON by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,430 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in shares of AON by 105.3% in the 4th quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 1,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AON by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,894 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,117,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of AON from $411.00 to $421.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $438.00 price objective (up previously from $436.00) on shares of AON in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of AON from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $408.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $420.00 price objective (up previously from $401.00) on shares of AON in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of AON from $414.00 to $409.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AON presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $409.18.

AON Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:AON opened at $374.4670 on Friday. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $323.73 and a 12 month high of $412.97. The firm has a market cap of $80.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.83. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $359.36 and its 200-day moving average is $370.49.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.09. AON had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 50.91%. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $0.745 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. AON's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.96%.

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.

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