Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 8,855 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Bessemer Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 46.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,273 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,855 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in AON were worth $4,101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AON. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in AON in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in AON in the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC bought a new position in AON in the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in AON in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in AON in the 4th quarter worth about $93,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

AON Price Performance

AON opened at $352.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 1.73. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $291.64 and a 52-week high of $412.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.22 billion, a PE ratio of 30.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.86. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $358.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $370.86.

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

AON Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st were given a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 1st. This is a positive change from AON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. AON's payout ratio is currently 25.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on AON from $420.00 to $398.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 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 report on Tuesday, May 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on AON from $414.00 to $409.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on AON from $430.00 to $415.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded AON to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AON currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $397.27.

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.

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