Bank of Nova Scotia Reduces Stock Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Key Points

• The Bank of Nova Scotia significantly reduced its stake in Aon plc by 72.4%, now holding only 22,591 shares valued at approximately $9.02 million.
• Aon recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $3.49 for the quarter, exceeding expectations and marking a 10.5% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.745 per share, reflecting a yield of 0.8%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 1st.

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 72.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,591 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 59,287 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in AON were worth $9,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. R Squared Ltd increased its stake in AON by 1,758.3% in the first quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 2,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $890,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110 shares during the last quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new position in AON in the first quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Cumberland Partners Ltd purchased a new position in AON in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,883,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,057,000. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 9.0% in the first quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 663 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of AON stock opened at $360.69 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $358.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $370.79. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $322.95 and a 1-year high of $412.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.77 billion, a PE ratio of 30.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.16 billion. AON had a return on equity of 50.91% and a net margin of 15.54%. AON's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AON has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on AON from $394.00 to $409.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $438.00 price target (up previously from $436.00) on shares of AON in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on AON from $393.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded AON from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $408.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $420.00 price target (up previously from $401.00) on shares of AON in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.

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