Townsquare Capital LLC Acquires 55,813 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC significantly increased its stake in Aon plc by 423.1% to 69,003 shares, worth approximately $27.54 million, during the first quarter of the year.
• Aon plc recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.745 per share, which will be paid on August 15th, with a current yield of 0.8%.
• Research analysts have shown positive sentiment towards Aon's stock, with multiple upgrades increasing price targets, resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $409.21.

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 423.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 55,813 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in AON were worth $27,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Forsta AP Fonden grew its stake in AON by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 41,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,522,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in AON by 83.6% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 236,517 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $94,391,000 after buying an additional 107,714 shares in the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its stake in AON by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 17,716 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,070,000 after buying an additional 1,274 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in AON by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,390,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $954,053,000 after buying an additional 61,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its stake in AON by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 305 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

AON Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AON traded up $1.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $366.39. 1,095,233 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,402,192. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $323.73 and a 52 week 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 stock has a market capitalization of $79.00 billion, a PE ratio of 30.69, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.83. The company's 50 day moving average price is $357.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $370.69.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $0.745 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. AON's payout ratio is currently 24.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AON. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (up from $401.00) on shares of AON in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $393.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of AON from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $408.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of AON from $414.00 to $409.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AON from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $400.00 to $426.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AON currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $409.21.

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.