West Paces Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

West Paces Advisors Inc. cut its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 49.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 959 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 926 shares during the quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc.'s holdings in AON were worth $383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AON in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $596,665,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in AON by 86.7% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,067,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $742,582,000 after buying an additional 960,204 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in AON by 56,460.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 761,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $304,052,000 after buying an additional 760,516 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AON by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,949,919 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,773,165,000 after purchasing an additional 627,742 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of AON by 5,877.4% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 536,174 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $192,572,000 after purchasing an additional 527,204 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Price Performance

AON stock traded down $3.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $352.67. The company had a trading volume of 1,025,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,177,965. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $285.35 and a 1-year high of $412.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $361.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $373.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.16 billion, a PE ratio of 27.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.86.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.04 by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.83 billion. AON had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 70.84%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were given a $0.745 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. This is a boost from AON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. AON's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on AON shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of AON from $396.00 to $416.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler raised shares of AON from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $384.00 to $378.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of AON from $430.00 to $415.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of AON from $394.00 to $409.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of AON from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $408.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $397.27.

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.