Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Holdings Decreased by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 15.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,832,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,783,997 shares during the quarter. AON accounts for about 1.3% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 4.55% of AON worth $3,923,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AON. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AON by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,519,752 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,010,714,000 after purchasing an additional 88,361 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in AON by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,949,919 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,773,165,000 after buying an additional 627,742 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of AON by 18.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,034,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,210,864,000 after buying an additional 469,238 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of AON by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,329,221 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $824,498,000 after buying an additional 64,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in AON by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,158,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $775,406,000 after acquiring an additional 183,442 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on AON shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $438.00 price objective (up from $436.00) on shares of AON in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of AON from $420.00 to $398.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of AON from $415.00 to $401.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Redburn Atlantic raised AON to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded AON from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $408.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $403.00.

AON Price Performance

AON stock traded up $4.22 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $359.89. 764,314 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,311,465. The company has a market cap of $77.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.66, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 1.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $358.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $370.73. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $295.79 and a 52-week high of $412.97.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.04 by ($0.37). The company had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.83 billion. AON had a return on equity of 52.71% and a net margin of 15.58%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $0.745 per share. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. AON's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.38%.

AON Company 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.