Aberdeen Group plc Buys 74,913 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Aon plc by 108.2%, owning 144,136 shares valued at approximately $57.2 million.
• Aon reported earnings of $3.49 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and indicating a year-over-year revenue growth of 10.5%.
• Analysts have set a new average target price for Aon shares at $410.69, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" based on several recent brokerage reports.

Aberdeen Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 108.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 144,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 74,913 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.07% of AON worth $57,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AON in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AON by 54.7% in the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AON in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AON traded up $1.8350 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $374.6950. The stock had a trading volume of 542,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,331,279. The business's fifty day moving average is $358.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $370.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The company has a market cap of $80.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.83. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $323.73 and a twelve month high of $412.97.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.16 billion. AON had a return on equity of 50.91% and a net margin of 15.54%.AON's revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AON has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised AON from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $408.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a "cautious" rating on shares of AON in a research report on Monday. Citigroup started coverage on AON in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $402.00 target price for the company. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $420.00 price target (up from $401.00) on shares of AON in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on AON from $414.00 to $409.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $409.18.

About AON

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.