BloombergSen Inc. Trims Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Key Points

• BloombergSen Inc. reduced its stake in Aon plc by 1.7%, maintaining approximately 289,525 shares, which constitute 7.2% of its investment portfolio.
• Aon shares recently traded up 4.5%, reaching $372.71, with a market capitalization of $80.48 billion and a P/E ratio of 31.75.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.745 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.80%, to be paid on August 15th.

BloombergSen Inc. lowered its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 289,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,081 shares during the quarter. AON makes up approximately 7.2% of BloombergSen Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. BloombergSen Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of AON worth $115,547,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter worth approximately $596,665,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in AON by 86.7% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,067,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $742,582,000 after buying an additional 960,204 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of AON by 56,460.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 761,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $304,052,000 after acquiring an additional 760,516 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,949,919 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,773,165,000 after acquiring an additional 627,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in AON by 5,877.4% during 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 owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Stock Performance

AON stock traded up $16.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $372.71. 2,251,364 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,320,097. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $304.12 and a 52 week high of $412.97. The business has a 50-day moving average of $358.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $370.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.84.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.09. AON had a net margin of 15.58% and a return on equity of 52.71%. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. AON's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. AON's payout ratio is presently 25.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AON shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on AON from $420.00 to $398.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of AON from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $384.00 to $378.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of AON from $414.00 to $409.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays decreased their target price 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of AON from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $408.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $403.00.

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.